Vietnam Red Cross prepares for stormy season of 2017

Flood on the Hanoi street

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) held a conference in Hanoi on June 28 to publicise its natural disaster forecast in 2017 and evaluate its capacity and resources to respond to emergencies.

The VRC predicted that in the rest of the year, El Nino and Southern Oscillation will maintain at medium level. There is a low possibility of El Nino while storms and tropical low pressures arising in the East Sea are likely to increase with less effects on the mainland, except the central region.

Average temperature may be higher than that in the past years but hot weather will not last for long, according to the VRS.

Participants at the event agreed on the need to equipped people in risky areas with necessary skills to cope with natural disasters, with strengtheningpopularisation on preventive measures to minimise impacts of natural disasters.

At the conference, the VRC and the International Red Cross and Crescent Societies discussed and agreed on a cooperation framework for the 2017-2022 period, which aims to meet the requirements of affected people based on the capacity of each party.

VRC President Nguyen ThiXuan Thu said that the organisation has prepared over 100 billion VND, more than 20 packages of household commodities, more than 3,000 water purification capsules, and more than 1,700 family water filters, among others, to respond to possible disasters.

The VRC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on coordination in implementing activities on preventing natural disasters, managing and developing protection forests, building new-style rural areas, and supporting the poor.

It also inked a cooperation programme with the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to carry out the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control in the 2016-2020 period.

The VRC is a member of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. In the past six months, the society launched many activities to provide urgent support for those affected by natural disasters in Khanh Hoa, Lai Chau and Hoa Binh provinces. The organisation has also implemented 14 programmes and projects on natural disaster prevention and response.