The above information is stated in the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction sent to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on September 5.
According to a report from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, at 3:00 p.m. on September 4, heavy rain and strong winds in Ho Chi Minh City caused 39 trees to fall completely, 6 trees to tilt, and 23 other trees to have broken branches.
The incident caused damage to people and property, including one person who died after being hit by a fallen tree branch while driving on the road.
The victim was a 52-year-old woman who was riding her motorbike on An Duong Vuong Street (District 5) when she was suddenly hit by a 6-meter long branch of a tree that fell from a height of 25 meters. Despite being rushed to Cho Ray Hospital for emergency treatment, the victim did not survive and died at around 4 p.m. on September 4.
In addition, the fallen tree and broken branches damaged two cars, two motorbikes, a lamp post and a barrier in the park.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said that in the first 7 months of the year, its units have maintained, cared for, and trimmed about 150,000 street, park, and public space trees. At the same time, they cut down 143 heavily damaged trees and cleared 156 trees. In particular, they have cut down 2,437 damaged and unsafe trees.
Faced with the complicated developments of storm No. 3 (storm Yagi) which is likely to cause heavy rain and strong winds in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Construction has just directed the Technical Infrastructure Management Center, districts and Thu Duc City to urgently deploy response measures, focusing on checking and pruning trees.
Trees with pests, diseased trunks, or leaning roots that are at risk of falling will be cut down to minimize damage to people and property.
The Department of Construction requires functional forces to always be ready to respond and coordinate closely to quickly handle any incidents related to fallen trees, especially in sensitive areas such as houses, offices, schools, hospitals and public works. The work of clearing the scene and clearing fallen trees must also be done promptly to ensure traffic safety.
In addition to tree trimming, the Department of Construction also requested the Technical Infrastructure Management Center to coordinate the inspection of drainage systems to ensure flood prevention for urban areas. Measures such as dredging drainage systems, repairing manholes and providing pump standby are deployed to limit flooding caused by heavy rain and high tides.
Relevant units were also directed to inspect the urban lighting system to ensure electrical safety during the rainy season. Damaged or insufficiently lit lighting locations must be repaired immediately to avoid traffic safety risks.
