According to the message, the General Staff was tasked to instruct military units to mobilize their troops and vehicles to help people overcome heavy consequences of the flooding and search for people still missing. Meanwhile, units and agencies under the General Department of Politics should promote dissemination of information about troops’ natural disaster mitigation and search and rescue activities, particularly highlighting outstanding groups and individuals in relief operations.
Other forces were asked to closely follow the developments of the flooding and ready forces and vehicles for disaster relief on request. Military Regions 2, 4, and 9 and naval, air defense - air force and border guard units deploy their troops to search for the missing in Thanh Hoa and Dien Bien provinces, consolidate dikes in Ca Mau and Kien Giang provinces and help people overcome consequences of the natural disasters.
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Troops and people carry supplies to storm-hit victims in Quan Son. |
According to the reports from the Office of the National Committee for Disaster Response, Search and Rescue, as of August 5, floods caused by torrential rains of storm Wipha claimed ten lives, left 11 others missing, injured two others, cause 85 houses to collapse, unroofed 96 others, submerged 1,016 houses, destroyed 471.3 hectare of crops, caused landslides and broke dozens of electric poles. At present, seven villages of three communes of Quan Son district, Thanh Hoa province have been engulfed. Of the localities, Na Meo commune was heavily hit by the flooding with one dead, 11 missing and four injured.
In an effort to support local people, on August 5, the office sent a working group to Quan Son district to study the situation and work with the local leadership and units under the Military Region 4 Command to overcome the consequences caused by floods. Nearly 2,000 troops cooperated with other forces to search for the missing, evacuate 984 households to safer places, repair damaged roads and damaged houses.
In localities of Military Region 4 alone, more than 1,540 troops and militiamen and 20 vehicles of different kinds were mobilized to help people in Quan Son and Muong Lat districts overcome the flood consequences. At present, the forces are searching for the missing and evacuating people in flood-hit areas to safer places.
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Troops help overcome flood consequences. |
On the same day, the Military Region 4 Command sent a mission led by its Political Commissar, Major General Tran Vo Dung to flood-hit localities to visit, encourage and offer food and money to local people. The mission also inquired after and presented gifts to patients at the General Hospital of Quan Son district and joint the local authorities in instructing relevant forces to conduct natural disaster mitigation and search and rescue missions.
Present in Na Meo commune, Senior Colonel Vu Xuan Hung, Deputy Chief of Staff of Military Region 4, said that the search for the missing was an important mission. At present, troops and militiamen of the Thanh Hoa provincial Military Command, Military Command of Quan Son district and Border Guard Command are searching for nine missing people in Quan Son and Muong Lat districts.
As a core force in coping with storm Wipha in Thanh Hoa, the provincial Border Guard Command took measures to save people in disaster and help localities overcome the consequences. The Thanh Hoa provincial Military and Border Guard Commands mobilized more than 700 troops and militiamen to coordinate with people in Na Meo commune to overcome the flood consequences. On August 5, the military, border guard and local forces approached the flood-isolated locality to provide food and water to local people, take the injured to safer places for treatment and search for the missing.
A mission of the Vietnam Border Guard Command, led by its Deputy Chief, Senior Colonel Pham Xuan Dieu and Commander of the Thanh Hoa provincial Border Guard Command also crossed the Luong River to the flood-isolated village of Sa Na, Na Meo commune. The injured had their health checked and treated by medical staff. Senior Colonel Pham Xuan Dieu visited and presented gifts to households which suffered huge losses caused by the flooding.
At present, a working mission of the Search and Rescue Department of the General Staff, Military Command Region 4 and the Thanh Hoa provincial Party Committee and armed forces visited and presented gifts and encouraged families with huge losses and instructed units to conduct the search for the missing.
At a working session with leaders of Quan Son district, Senior Colonel Nguyen Huu Hung, the department’s deputy head affirmed the Ministry of National Defense has given top priority to the search for the missing and relevant forces should take measures to soon find those missing during the flooding while ensuring absolute safety for participating troops.
Leaders of Quan Son district and representatives of Military Region 4 and the Search and Rescue Department said that regarding the support for flood-stricken families, participating forces have all tried their best and worked with their highest sense of responsibility.
Also on August 5, Viengxay district of Laos’ Houaphanh province asked the Vietnamese side to search for seven Lao people missing in the third storm. At present, Quan Son district is working with other forces to search for and identify the Lao missing.
Translated by Tran Hoai