The figure was released at a conference Dec 17 co-held by the National Institute for Irrigation Planning (NIIP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi.

 

To combat floods after heavy rains, Hanoi has to construct new large scale pumping stations besides upgrading existing ones and dredging river systems, the NIIP suggested.

 

In early Nov this year, Hanoi reportedly experienced a historic floods triggered by torrential rains with damages of VND3 trillion (US$181.8 million) and the city is estimated to need VND1 trillion (US$60.6 million) to handle the aftermaths of the floods.

 

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently financed the second phase of the water drainage project at a total cost of US$370 million.

 

Flooding and storms kill about 500 people in Vietnam a year and cause losses of US$1 billion, head of the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, Nguyen Xuan Dieu said.

 

In 2008, Vietnam’s mountainous areas saw 21 flash floods, leaving 192 dead and missing, injuring 154 people and causing damages of VND2.311 trillion. (Local sources)