Dak Lak PPC has organised a thematic conference on disaster prevention and control involving several localities across the province. The conference was held in a hybrid format, connecting with communes and wards province-wide.

Overview of the conference.

Since the beginning of the year, the province has rolled out coordinated response plans alongside scenarios, consolidated the Civil Defence Steering Committee, and prepared personnel as well as equipment in line with the “four on-the-spot” motto. To date, all 102 communes and wards have established or consolidated their civil defence steering committees; 100% of commune-level units maintain disaster response teams, comprising more than 11,000 members. Forces ready for mobilisation include over 26,000 officials coupled with soldiers, supported by more than 37,000 vehicles, equipment and other supplies.

Forecasting, warning combined with information dissemination have continued to be strengthened, with nearly 100 specialised rain gauges and 11 automatic flood warning stations. However, current forecasting of localised heavy rainfall, flash floods along with landslides remain insufficiently precise; disaster prevention and control infrastructure as well as essential infrastructure in some areas have deteriorated; investment resources remain limited, and grassroots response capacity uneven.

Provincial Party Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet stressed that disaster prevention alongside control must shift decisively from passive response to proactive prevention, with risks identified and addressed early while giving top priority to protecting people’s lives and leaving absolutely no room for passivity or surprise in any circumstances.

Localities must maintain a thorough understanding of their areas, populations together with high-risk zones; conduct specific reviews of evacuation plans, shelter locations, forces and equipment in line with the “four on-the-spot” motto; as well as strictly uphold the “six clarities” principle, ensuring that identified risks that are addressed promptly and do not escalate into further losses.

PPC Vice Chairman Nguyen Thien Van requested that departments, sectors and localities urgently translate the directions of the Provincial Party Secretary into concrete tasks coupled with solutions appropriate to each area. In the immediate term, the People's Committees of communes and wards must complete the review alongside updating of response plans for each type of natural disaster; urgently address vulnerable sites involving reservoirs and dams, landslide-prone areas, transport routes combined with essential infrastructure; and improve the quality of forecasting as well as warning to make them more specific and responsive to local conditions.

Translated by KHUONG THAO