Climate change is altering the face of weather patterns across Vietnam, but perhaps no more so than in the country’s capital. As Hanoi faces the prospect of 2 – 3 major hurricanes this year, city authorities are taking measures to lessen their blow (pun intended?).
Viewing the city’s current storm prevention plan as outdated, Hanoi’s Deputy Chair, Tran Xuan Viet, has ordered the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention to “review, adjust and supplement its storm and flood prevention scheme, including specific plans for evacuation in strong storms.”
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Shoddy construction is also in the spotlight as Viet told the Departments of Construction, Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning - Architecture, and the People's Committees of all districts to “tighten control over construction of houses and other facilities along rivers and in low-lying areas to reduce risks caused by natural disasters.”
While Do Duc Thinh, Director of the Hanoi Dyke Management Department, said that there will be no serious flooding this month, the city has already suffered deadly rainstorms and strong winds – 3 people died in a storm on June 4.
Hanoi’s weather patterns are becoming increasingly hot and forecasters predict that the city could face an annual rainfall of hundreds of millimeters this year in addition to an increase in super storms.
[VietNamNet // Photo via NASA]
