Officials credit ‘proactiveness’ for low casualties from Storm Noru

Central Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Province, where the storm’s eye traveled through, saw 41 people injured, while Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue saw eight people injured each, the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said Wednesday.

The storm completely demolished 94 houses, with 65 in Quang Nam, 21 in Quang Ngai, 6 in Thua Thien-Hue and 2 in Quang Tri, it added.

Over 3,200 other homes had their roofs blown off, with 1,300 in Quang Ngai, 1,150 in Quang Nam, 220 in Thua Thien-Hue and 140 in Quang Tri.

Around 1,300 ha of crops and over 5,200 trees were damaged during the storm. Over 1,600 cattle and 1,500 poultry have either died or been swept away.

Several roads were either inundated or eroded away. Nine docked vessels in Da Nang and Quang Nam were either damaged or sunk during the storm. The storm also damaged many power stations, causing blackouts in certain regions.

At a Wednesday meeting on evaluating and resolving the consequences of Storm Noru, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said no casualty was resulted thanks to effective storm prevention measures.

“This is the result of efforts and the proactiveness of authorities,” he said, attributing the success of storm prevention measures to timely and coordinated instructions from authorities, as well as effective communication systems.

The evacuation of people from dangerous areas has been conducted quickly, and people have also followed instructions and cooperated with authorities regarding storm and flood prevention.

Le Trung Chinh, chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, said Storm Noru, despite its horrendous strength, did not result in losses of lives thanks to timely intervention, especially the evacuation of people.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the storm prevention measures were positive, adding that authorities must not let people go hungry or homeless after the storm.

Storm Noru made landfall in Da Nang and its neighbor Quang Nam Province at 1 a.m. Wednesday, with maximum wind speed of 133 kph, making one the most powerful storms to hit Vietnam in the past two decades.

On Wednesday morning, it moved to Laos and weakened into a tropical depression.