Hanoi responds to storms Ragasa and Bualoi: People's lives are top priority

As of noon on September 25, storm No. 9 Ragasa has gradually weakened, but storm No. 10 Bualoi is entering our country's waters and gradually strengthening to level 12. In Hanoi, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh has issued an urgent telegram requesting localities to deploy a series of response scenarios "most drastically, proactively at the highest level, anticipating the worst scenario, not being passive or surprised".

It is forecasted that from September 25 to 26, Hanoi will experience widespread heavy rain, with total rainfall in many places possibly exceeding 250mm, with a high risk of urban flooding, flash floods, and landslides. Winds will gradually increase to level 4-5, accompanied by dangerous thunderstorms.

Faced with complicated developments, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh issued two urgent dispatches, promptly outlining urgent tasks such as: Reviewing and preparing plans to evacuate and relocate residents in dangerous areas; Protecting the dyke system, dams, pumping stations and key infrastructure works; Implementing the motto "green house is better than old field" to ensure people's lives; Limiting people from going out when the storm hits, proactively diverting traffic, and being ready for rescue; Electricity, construction, health sectors ... simultaneously set up response scenarios, from providing priority electricity to handling fallen trees, and monitoring epidemics after floods.

Storms number 9 and number 10 are making landfall in our country.

Notably, the telegram of the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee not only requires the synchronous implementation of immediate solutions, but also clearly states the spirit: All levels and sectors must put the safety of people's lives first and foremost. This is a political order, and at the same time a commitment of responsibility of the government of the largest urban area in the country in the face of a particularly serious natural disaster situation.

Protecting vulnerable dikes

According to a reporter's report in Chuyen My commune - a locality with two important dikes on Nhue River and Duy Tien River, due to the impact of recent storms No. 3 and No. 5, the river water rose, causing many dangerous subsidence and landslides, greatly affecting the protection of the dike. To respond to storms No. 9 and No. 10, the People's Committee of Chuyen My commune organized forces to control, support, and guide to ensure safe traffic for people and vehicles, especially in areas and locations at risk of landslides; arranged forces, materials, and vehicles to overcome incidents, ensuring smooth traffic on the commune's main traffic axes when heavy rain occurs.

According to Vice Chairman of Chuyen My Commune People's Committee Vu Van Huu, the daily traffic density is very high, leading to cracks in the middle and across the dike surface, leading to the risk of releasing the entire dike section into the river. The People's Committee of Chuyen My Commune has sent a document to the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the City's Dike Protection Department for guidance, upgrading, renovating, and ensuring the safety of the dike in the commune.

In addition, the Commune People's Committee also developed a plan to increase the capacity of pumping stations and drainage culverts to lower water levels and reduce the risk of flooding; directed the Agricultural Cooperatives in the commune to coordinate with Phu Xuyen Irrigation Enterprise to proactively plan the operation of buffer drainage works, and prepare drainage plans to prevent flooding and protect people's production, industrial clusters, and residential areas.

The People's Committee of Chuyen My commune basically fixed the landslides on the Nhue River dike flowing through the area.

Implement the "4 on-site" motto

That sense of urgency was quickly transformed into concrete actions at the grassroots level. According to a reporter in Tran Phu commune, which is often flooded during the rainy and stormy season, the commune's Military Command has made a separate plan for storm No. 9. Commander Nguyen Huu Duc said: "Riverside villages such as Khon Duy, My Luong, and Yen Trinh all have specific lists of evacuated households. We consider the 4-on-the-spot motto as a survival principle."

The commune government has also assigned specific tasks to each unit and organized forces to be on duty at key points. Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Vice Chairman of the commune, emphasized: "In addition to the response plan, we also developed a plan to restore production and clean up the environment after the storm, so as not to let people be passive."

In Khôn Duy village, which was once flooded up to the waist, people learned from last year's experience to harvest early, store food and prepare basket boats. Mr. Nguyễn Văn Nhiều (75 years old) shared: "This year my family is more proactive, not waiting for the water to flood before fleeing. The government and the army are also standing side by side with the people."

The medical sector is considered a “soft shield” in storm response. Doctor Nguyen Duy Kinh, Head of Tran Phu Commune Health Station, said: “We have prepared medicines and chemicals to treat the environment, signed a contingency contract with a pharmaceutical company. The village health network monitors the epidemic 24/7, makes a list of cases that need special monitoring to have a safe evacuation plan.”

At the same time, inner-city districts are also actively implementing inspections of drainage systems, reinforcing trees, and operating field pumping stations. The Hanoi Electricity Industry has created a scenario for providing priority power to hospitals, pumping stations, and evacuation centers.

Proactivity is the key to safety

In practice, whenever a natural disaster occurs, the proactiveness of the government and the people's awareness of prevention greatly determine the extent of damage. If in the past there was a mentality of waiting and relying, now, with the strong direction from the City People's Committee, the localities have "wound up" from the beginning.

The urgent telegram of Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh can be considered as a "General Mobilization Order" of the entire political system of the Capital. The new point is that not only immediate response, but the telegram also requested preparation of a long-term plan: Relocating residents with focus, protecting key infrastructure, and considering post-storm recovery plans.

Tran Phu Commune Health Station checks the amount of medicine and chemicals for environmental treatment, ready to respond to storm No. 9.

Military commander of Tran Phu commune inspected preparations for storm No. 9 in Khon Duy village.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tran Phu Commune, said that as soon as the urgent telegram was issued, the commune leaders directly inspected the area, re-planned the residential area, invested in synchronous dikes, infrastructure, and adapted to climate change so that response was no longer just "following" but became a sustainable strategy. When the two-level government came into operation, drawing on experience from previous years, the People's Committee of Tran Phu Commune developed a separate response plan for each storm, arranged functional forces to be on duty 24/4 at key points, and reported to the Steering Committee according to specific time frames to have timely response plans.

The geographical location of Tran Phu commune has a section of the Bui River passing through it. Every year during the rainy and stormy season, the flood on the Bui River is a horizontal flood, the water level rises abnormally every hour due to the flood from the upstream of the old Hoa Binh and Phu Tho provinces flowing downstream. Therefore, the People's Committee of Tran Phu commune determined that 110 households living outside the Bui River dike (in Khon Duy village) are people at risk of being directly affected.

Since then, the Tran Phu Commune authorities have proactively planned to relocate people to My Luong Primary School, which can accommodate about 500 temporary accommodations with all necessary necessities. Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Vice Chairman of the Tran Phu Commune People's Committee, emphasized the arrangement of many other relocation sites such as My Luong Cultural House and schools in the commune with a capacity of thousands of people, ready to respond.

In the context of "storm after storm", the proactive and decisive actions of Hanoi from the city to the villages are a clear demonstration of the spirit of "no surprises", putting people's safety first. This is not only an immediate requirement but also a long-term message: A large city can only be steadfast in the face of natural disasters when the government, functional forces and people are united and proactive from early on, from afar.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/ha-noi-ung-pho-bao-ragasa-va-bualoi-tinh-mang-nguoi-dan-la-uu-tien-hang-dau-20250925103432036.htm