US aids central Vietnam $100,000 to cope with floods

These funds will be provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) to address the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities in areas most affected by tropical storm Linfa, Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink said Saturday.

Storm Linfa is the sixth tropical storm to hit Vietnam in 2020 and made landfall on October 11.

Prior to Storm Linfa, the central region had already suffered days of severe flooding, resulting from a combination of a cold spell moving down from the north and an intertropical convergence zone stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Philippines.

The region got no respite from rains and floods as storm Nangka hit on Wednesday, followed by a tropical depression Friday night.

As of Saturday, flooding had adversely affected over 136,000 households - resulting in at least 60 deaths. These include two people killed when a landslide buried a group of workers at a hydropower plant in Thua Thien Hue Province and 13 others killed by another landslide while attempting to rescue the victims. 15 workers hit by the first landslide are still missing.

In addition, 150,000 people have been evacuated and significant impacts on transportation networks and agricultural livelihoods have been reported.

USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance partner VNRC is on the frontline of the response and has mobilized rapid disaster response teams established and trained through ongoing USAID disaster risk reduction programs to support evacuation, search and rescue, and emergency response operations, said the ambassador.

"We stand together with the government and the people of Vietnam as they mourn their loved ones, address the damage caused by this terrible flood, and move forward, as the people of Vietnam have always done. We pledge to assist you in your work to rebuild," he said.

"I would also like to express my concern for persons with disabilities in the provinces affected by the typhoon as they are amongst the most vulnerable populations in this disaster. They are often home-bound, have less access to information and cannot take full advantage of preparedness activities and evacuation protocols," he added.

It is estimated that the provinces impacted by storm Linfa are home to over 200,000 persons with disabilities, of whom 61,000 are directly affected by this disaster.

Since 2000, USAID, through the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, has provided over $26 million in disaster response, preparedness, and risk reduction assistance in Vietnam.

Through the Department of Defense, the U.S. government has also provided more than $28 million since 1998 to train military and civilian emergency responders and develop and equip disaster management centers, maritime response centers, and disaster shelters at community level.