Heavy toll from natural disasters

Natural disasters in the last decade killed 7,600 people, destroyed 2.5 million tonnes of food crops, sunk 11,000 fishing boats, and caused the loss of six million houses the Central Flood Prevention Steering Committee said October 13.
Total losses were put at over US$2.5 billion.
In an effort to make Vietnam safer against natural calamities by 2020, the committee said priority should be given to raise the population’s awareness of building the safe life in natural calamity, the ways to minimise human and property loss caused by natural calamities in the period of 2001–2010. In detail, the goals are set to decrease the number of missing or dead from 800 a year in 1990s to about 200 a year in the period 2001–2010; reduce the economic loss caused by natural calamity from 2% of GDP in the 1990s to about 1% of GDP in the period 2001–2010. To that end, the strategies of natural calamity mitigation should be integrated in other development policies and priorities should be given to the works of mitigating the natural calamity.
Vietnam has mapped out the national strategy and plan of action to mitigate natural calamity till 2020.

 

Category: Business