Flooding in the central region (Illustrative photo - Source: VNA)– More than 1,100 natural disasters have taken place across Vietnam this year, heard a conference held by the office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control in Hanoi on December 22.Accordingly, natural disasters have to date caused 166 people dead and missing, down 5% year-on-year. The estimated economic damage is about 8.23 trillion VND (339.38 million USD), an annual decrease of 58%. Faced with the abnormal and extreme nature of the disasters, the Government, Prime Minister, national steering committee have directed ministries and localities to vigorously and promptly implement responsive solutions.According to Hoang Phuc Lam, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, this year has so far seen eight storms and tropical depressions. Severe heatwaves have occurred, with temperatures in some places reaching up to 44.2 degrees Celsius. Notably, a real-time warning information system is being integrated into its related forecasting./.

Source: Viet Nam News December 23, 2023 02:16 UTC