Rain stops, floods recede but very slowly
On the morning of November 20, Mr. Cao Thanh Thuong - Deputy Head of the Gia Lai Provincial Civil Defense Command - said that the rain in the province has decreased, flood waters have begun to recede and people in basically dangerous areas have been evacuated to safety since yesterday.
Recorded in the morning of the same day, many areas such as Quy Nhon Bac, Quy Nhon Dong wards, Tuy Phuoc, Tuy Phuoc Dong communes... were still deeply flooded. The flood tends to recede but is very slow, many households are still isolated.
As of 7:00 a.m., the whole province had about 19,200 households with more than 71,000 people flooded and isolated; of which more than 7,500 households were flooded 2-3m deep. Estimated damage is more than 1,000 billion VND; 3 people died due to flood and 1 person died due to landslide.
In Tuy Phuoc commune, Ms. Le Thi Vinh Huong - Secretary of the Commune Party Committee - said that the flood water in the area is gradually receding, many places are receding very slowly, the rain has stopped. According to Ms. Huong, this is a historic flood, the water level rose above the expected scenario of evacuating people, so it is not possible to fully count the number because there were many cases.
"From 2:00 a.m. on November 19, I directly inspected the scene and directed rescue when the Luat Le dike landslide occurred, causing flooding in residential areas. People were evacuated before the flood overflowed the dike. I myself was isolated in floodwater for many hours, having to walk many kilometers to get to the main road," said Ms. Huong.
According to Ms. Huong, although the government and functional forces have made efforts to mobilize and move vehicles to evacuate people in dangerous areas, many people are still subjective and do not fully realize the dangers of floods.
"Living in a flood-prone area, people often have a subjective mentality. People's awareness is an important factor, deciding the safety of life", Ms. Huong shared.
From November 17 to the early morning of November 20, the police force in the whole province evacuated more than 12,000 people and rescued over 500 cases. The Provincial Military Command mobilized 1,617 soldiers, evacuated 2,463 households with 6,704 people.
begging for rice to save people
On the morning of November 20, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee - chaired a press conference to inform about the damage caused by floods. He assessed this as a historic flood, with the highest water level recorded ever, about 1m above the level in 2009, causing serious damage.
Right from the forecast, the province has developed response scenarios and activated the highest level of flood prevention plan (3.1). Since November 16, localities have evacuated more than 7,500 households with more than 28,000 people. More than 20,000 police officers, soldiers, soldiers, on-site forces and more than 1,000 specialized vehicles were mobilized to rescue people isolated in the flood.
"Over the past 2 days, the provincial leaders have been keeping watch for the rain, and the rescue forces have been on duty all night to rescue the people. Flood prevention work has been implemented very seriously. Up to now, issues of rescue and ensuring people's safety have been handled," Mr. Thanh emphasized.
Also this morning, the province sent a document requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Ministry of Finance to propose that the Government support 2,000 tons of rice to relieve hunger for people, when the risk of flooding may continue for many days.
The province also decided to provide emergency support of VND2 million/household for 3 months to poor households, near-poor households and those in particular difficulty (previously about 5,000 households); cases of collapsed houses and roofs will be supported under the policy of storm No. 13.
