Hanoi (VNA) - Technology and science is key to coping with future naturaldisasters, it was agreed at a recent workshop in Hanoi organised by theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Central SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

It was reported at the event that in August alone, more than 30people were killed or are still missing after floods countrywide.

Statistics show natural disasters killed 218 people last year,causing 20 trillion VND (863 million USD) worth of damage. In 2017, naturaldisasters killed 386 people resulting in 60 trillion VND (2.58 billion USD)worth of  damage.

Speaking at the workshop, Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that it requires the participation of notonly experts and scientists but also the private sector to apply science andtechnology to cope with natural disasters.

"We need solutions from diverse groups that took advantage ofhuman achievements in science and technology," he said.

Science and technology shouldfocus on activities of forecasting, early warning systems, coping with theproblems, remedying and re-constructing, he said, adding that this wouldminimise damages that natural disasters cause to both human lives and property.

It was also important because Vietnam was listed among fivecountries suffering the most from climate change and because the countryrecorded extreme weather phenomena that caused adverse effects on the nation’ssocio-economic development in recent years, he said.

It is estimated that natural disasters caused a loss of 1-1.5 percentof the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year during the past twodecades.

Dang Quang Minh, acting director of the National DisasterManagement Department under the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, said theauthority was concentrating on applying science and technology to raise publicawareness of natural disaster prevention.

He cited using Facebook todisseminate the importance of natural disaster prevention and running ane-learning system to train staff as examples.

The authority was also making video clips using 3D graphics tointroduce people how to prevent and cope better, he said.

Doan Thi Tuyet Nga, head of the Science, Technology andInternational Relations Department under the authority, suggested authorisedagencies build databases on dykes, landslides and floods.

Also at the workshop, participants discussed and sharedexperiences of issues related to a pilot system for early warning of flashfloods in the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Yen Bai, technologyto manage dykes and treat coastal erosion in the Mekong Delta. -VNA