This information was given at the training workshop "Communication to put children at the center of natural disaster situations" organized by the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in coordination with UNICEF on September 17, in Hue city.
Natural disasters are becoming more and more unusual
Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien - Deputy Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control - said that in 2025, natural disasters will continue to develop in a complicated manner, the whole world has witnessed many disasters causing heavy damage. From forest fires in the US, floods in China, earthquakes in Myanmar, to severe heat and forest fires in Europe... in just the first half of the year, global economic damage exceeded US$130 billion. These figures ring the alarm about the increasing global climate risks and the importance of raising forecasts, warnings, and communication for the community to respond promptly.
In Vietnam, since the beginning of the year, there have been many major natural disasters. Storm No. 1 in June caused unseasonal rain and flooding across the Central region. Storm No. 3 in July caused a historic flood on the Ca River, isolating tens of thousands of households in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa.
In particular, storm No. 5 at the end of August reached level 14, gusting to level 17, causing heavy rain from the North to the North Central region, forcing nearly 60,000 people to evacuate, tens of thousands of houses to have their roofs blown off, damaged, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops damaged. Thanks to the strong direction, participation of forces and proactiveness of the people, human losses have been minimized.
Journalism is an "extended arm" in disaster prevention
Mr. Nguyen Van Tien affirmed that the press and media play a particularly important role in natural disaster prevention. Through the press, people access information quickly, accurately and promptly, know when to evacuate, when to take shelter, and how to protect themselves and their families. During the recent storms, reporters and editors have accompanied the natural disaster prevention force to closely monitor the scene, convey information to the community, and help reduce the risk of damage.
Statistics from the Press Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) show that from January 1 to September 17, 2025, there were 77,495 news and articles on natural disaster prevention from 404 press agencies with more than 407 million readers.
Of which, Tin Tuc newspaper is the press agency with the largest number of articles with 1,926 articles. Lao Dong Newspaper ranked Top 2 with 1,605 news articles. The top 3 is the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper with 1,476 articles.
In the Top 10 press agencies reflecting on natural disasters, there are also the People's Army Newspaper, VietnamPlus Newspaper, Urban Economics Newspaper, VTV Times Newspaper, Nhan Dan Viet Newspaper, and Voice of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper.
Journalist Dang Khac Loi - Deputy Director of the Press Department - shared that the press is an extension of natural disaster prevention and control, the press agency plays a key role, an information bridge between authorities and people.
This role does not stop at reporting, but also contributes to raising awareness and action of the community. To accompany the goal of improving the quality of news and propaganda on natural disaster prevention and control, meeting the requirements of sustainable development of the country in the period of digital transformation and international integration, propaganda on natural disaster prevention and control plays an increasingly important role. Not only is it a bridge between people and state management agencies on natural disaster prevention and control, propaganda also contributes to orienting and raising awareness of people and businesses.
