Australia, US to provide $3M aid to Vietnam for typhoon Yagi relief efforts

The first initial tranche of Australia’s emergency relief supplies is scheduled to arrive at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi Wednesday evening.

It includes 264 personal hygiene kits, 120 kitchen sets, 600 blankets, 264 house repair kits, 600 sleeping mats, 522 tarpaulins, and 360 mosquito nets.

The shipment is expected to be immediately transferred to Yen Bai where more than 21,000 households have been flooded.

The U.S. Wednesday afternoon announced a $1 million in immediate humanitarian aid through through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The assistance will be allocated to humanitarian partners to enable the provision of multipurpose cash assistance, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, as well as non-food items in support of Government of Vietnam-led disaster assistance efforts across Vietnam.

Over the past five years the U.S. Mission to Vietnam, through USAID, has provided $7.7 million in emergency response and disaster preparedness assistance.

The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) will send 2,002 family kits containing plastic buckets, water bags, towels, t-shirts, mosquito nets, candles, and FM radios.

It will also provide 1,008 house repair kits including ropes, hand saws, nails, shovels, pickaxes, scissors, corner nails, ties, and hammers; and 1,015 kitchen sets.

AHA Centre will also deliver 3,031 personal hygiene kits including laundry detergent, sanitary pads, handkerchiefs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide 40 hand-operated water filters, including pump filters and cartridge filters, with a filtration rate of 4 liters per minute and a maximum capacity of 100,000 liters; and 200 multipurpose plastic tarps.

The aid is expected to arrive in Hanoi on Sep. 16-17.

The Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention is currently in discussions with organizations such as U.N. Women, Samaritan's Purse, the Swiss Embassy, the French Embassy, and Save the Children to coordinate emergency assistance.

On Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a briefing with embassies and international organizations about the impact of typhoon Yagi.

Pauline Tamesis, the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, stated that U.N. agency leaders are ready to assist the government in providing the earliest possible support to the people. The focus will be on vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and children.

Typhoon Yagi has caused severe damage to the northern provinces. As of 1.30 p.m. Wednesday, 155 people had died, and 141 were missing, primarily due to landslides and flash floods in Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Cao Bang Provinces.