Workshop seeks to enhance Vietnam’s disaster management capacity

The workshop is jointly organized by the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VDMA) and the US Forest Service (USFS).

VDMA Director General Tran Quang Hoai speaking at the event (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Speaking at the event, VDMA Director General Tran Quang Hoai said under the US-ASEAN cooperation program in natural disaster management, the VDMA and USFS have worked together to develop a non-project aid for training and enhancing management capacity in natural disaster prevention and control in Vietnam.

Its objectives are to strengthen disaster management in Vietnam and to enhance the country’s capacity to respond quickly and effectively to emergency incidents when a disaster occurs, said Hoai, who is also deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

“Currently, we are doing quite well when a disaster emergency happens because the community, ministries and public agencies, all together, joined hands,” he said. “But after the disaster, we almost do nothing.”

“Most of the time, we have worked based on experience and local funding, following the will of local leaders with lack of proper knowledge in disaster management,” he added.

Vietnam lacks of proper knowledge in disaster management. (Photo for illustration: tuoitre.vn)

To solve the problems, he continued, more attention should be paid to multi-agency coordination and communications in disaster prevention and control as sharing information with the press means sharing with the community to effectively respond to natural disasters.

Source: VNA