On October 20-23, three working teams from the Disaster Risk Reduction Partnership will join the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority to identify and assess damages in five central provinces which are inundated and isolated by lasing floods, said Mr. Andrew Jeffries, Country director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cum head of Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction. The executive gave the information while co-chairing a meeting on support for the flood-hit locals with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cum Head of the Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction Nguyen Hoang Hiep. During the conference, partners from the Disaster Risk Reduction vowed to participate in disaster surveys and provide essential goods to the locals. By far, the Office of Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has received pledged assistance from ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center), the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam. As of 6:00 on October 19, severe rain and flooding in the central region killed 90 people, wounded other 34, damaged 12 highways and 17 kilometers of local road, engulfed 107,540 hectares of rice and veggies, and swept away 531,756 heads of poultry and cattle, according to the office. (Tuoi Tre, Tin Tuc, Nhan Dan)
