Vietnam grants $21 mln disaster aid to support five flood-hit provinces

By Nguyen Dong, Hoang Tao October 22, 2020 | 03:49 am PT

A mother and her two son wearing weepers peek out of the roof when seeing rescue forces in Quang Binh Province, October 21, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

The government decided to grant VND500 billion ($21.52 million) to five central provinces worst hit by historic flooding for rescue and social welfare support.

The five provinces, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam, would receive VND100 billion each as part of the government’s efforts to help local communities overcome the consequences of devastating floods, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh sait at a meeting in Quang Tri on Thursday morning.

The government also provided each of the five provinces with 1,000 tons of rice alongside medicine and antiseptic chemicals.

Senior Lieutenant General Le Chiem, Deputy Minister of National Defense, said the ministry has provided 22 tons of dried food to flooded provinces. For Quang Tri, military forces also provided seven motorboats, 36 generators and three water pumps for after-flood clean-up work along with 1,000 life jackets.

Chiem suggested local authorities distribute dried food to victims in flood-prone areas immediately and properly.

In the past, the defense ministry found "some local leaders had given dried food to officials as gifts because it was delicious," Chiem said. "The dried food is meant for flood victims. They are in need."

Binh said damage caused by floods in Quang Tri was "very huge," especially in the two mountainous districts of Huong Hoa and Dak Rong where infrastructure has been heavily affected.

Therefore, the government has granted an additional VND40 billion for these two districts to cope with the flood impacts.

Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said floodwater started receding gradually, so it is necessary to focus on relief for flood victims, from Quang Nam to Ha Tinh.

Many international organizations have pledged donations of cash and disaster relief to help central Vietnam.

For more than two weeks, the central region has been swept by historic flooding and deadly landslides that caused damage described by government officials as worst in five years.

At least 114 people in central Vietnam were killed by severe flooding and landslides and more than 170,000 houses in flood-prone Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces have been submerged, with many areas currently isolated.