OCHA Situation Report No. 3
Viet Nam - Floods
29 October 2002


This report is based on information provided by the Office of the UN
Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, the Government, the UNDP/MARD-Disaster
Management Unit, the Red Cross, and media reports.


Situation and Damage

1. Water levels of the Mekong River and the Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of
Reeds) and Long Xuyen Quadrangle areas of the Mekong Delta are decreasing
and are expected to continue doing so.  They still remain above Alarm
Level III (very dangerous flood condition) at the Moc Hoa Gauging Station
in Long An Province.

2.  Water levels of the rivers in the central provinces of Ha Tinh and
Nghe An, which were affected by flash floods in late September, have
continued to decrease.  They are now either below Alarm Level I (which
indicates possible floods) or between Alarm Level I, and Alarm Level II
(II indicates a dangerous flood condition) at the various gauging
stations.

3.  According to an update of the southern Committee for Flood and Storm
Control (CFSC)  of 28 October, this third consecutive year of flooding in
the Mekong River Delta has claimed 154 lives, of which 136 are children. A
total of 227,640 houses have been inundated, 4,163 damaged, and 902 have
collapsed, and 54,948 households are reported as having made temporary
repairs to their houses. In addition, 1,244 schools have been inundated
and damaged, and 223,133 pupils prevented from going to school due to the
flooding.  The southern CFSC has estimated the flood-related losses in the
Mekong Delta provinces at VND 364.162 billion (around USD 23.9 million).
These floods were reportedly less severe than previous years due to better
preparation.

4. The southern CFSC indicates in the same update that 63,872 households
in the Mekong Delta need relief and rehabilitation assistance.


National and International Response

5.  The Government has granted the central province of Ha Tinh VND 10
billion (around USD 660,000) and 500 MT of rice, and the central province
of Nghe An VND 5 billion (USD 330,000) and 2,250 MT of rice. The
Government has also given VND 770 million (USD 50,660) to several
provinces in the Mekong Delta, and VND 10 billion (USD 660,000) and 1,600
MT of rice to Lam Dong Province, in the North.

6.  According to the southern CFSC, in the Mekong Delta assistance was
provided to 33,928 households, over 15,000 people were given free medical
care, and approximately VND 3,000 million was distributed as cash
assistance to the victims. In addition, a total of 1,038 day-care centres
were organized in the flood-affected provinces of the Mekong Delta, which
took care of 23,808 children.

7. The Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) launched on 2 October a national appeal
for USD 840,000 to assist 40,000 households affected by the floods and
storms in 7 provinces. These are Ha Giang and Lam Dong in the North, Ha
Tinh and Nghe An in the centre, and Long An, Dong Thap, and An Giang in
the Mekong Delta.  The VNRC has received contributions from South Korea,
Japan, The Netherlands, France, the American Chamber of Commerce, the
Mennonite Central Committee and Oxfam Belgium, as well as from a multitude
of domestic sources. Before its appeal, the VNRC had already provided over
VND 143 million (USD 9,400) in cash from its own reserves to assist the
victims of the floods in Ha Giang, Lam Dong, Ha Tinh and Nghe An, as well
as household kits worth more than USD 4,000.

8.  OCHA has provided through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator a
USD 50,000 Emergency Grant drawn from funds pre-positioned with OCHA by
the Government of Norway, and its own reserves. The grant will be used to
equip childcare centres in the worst affected districts of Can Tho
Province with standard latrines, sanitation equipment, and educational and
recreational kits, and to provide life jackets and rescue and first aid
training to pupils and teachers in 168 primary schools in the province.
Children cradles will be provided for day-care centres in Tien Giang
Province. Boats and fishing nets will be provided to 200 of the poorest
families in An Giang Province, where 5,000 boats are required to help poor
families overcome the impact of the floods.  The People Committees of the
three provinces will carry out these activities through their Red Cross
Chapters and other members of the provincial CFSCs.

9.  As previously reported (see Situation Report no 2), UNICEF has
provided USD 240,000 worth of aid to the three most-affected provinces in
the Mekong Delta.

10.  Updates on contributions to this disaster may be found on the OCHA
Internet Website (http://www.reliefweb.int)  by clicking on Financial
Tracking for this disaster. Donors are requested to verify this table and
inform OCHA Geneva of corrections/additions/values. Donors are encouraged
to notify OCHA Geneva of their contributions to this disaster using the
OCHA Standardized Contributions Recording Format available electronically
in the above-mentioned Financial Tracking Website.

11.  This is the last situation report on this disaster. It is also
available, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, on
the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int



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Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Mr. Rudolf Muller / Ms. Marie Spaak
  Direct Tel. +41-22-917 3131 / 17 28

Press contact:
  (GVA)  Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  (NYC)  Brian Grogan direct Tel. +1-212-963-1143


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