Emergency Assistance to Northern Viet Nam for Flood Disaster

August 15, 2008

On August 15 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency relief goods (tents, blankets, water purifiers), equivalent to about 18 million yen, to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, which sustained a major flood disaster caused by torrential rain in the northern part of the country.
In Viet Nam, torrential rain since the beginning of August in the northern part of the country caused floods mainly in Lao Cai Province and Yen Bai Province. The floods affected a large number of the residents including 125 deaths and 38 persons missing. It also destroyed public buildings including schools and hospitals, and around 19,000 houses (as of August 13).
The surrounding areas, at present, are suffered from serious problems including food shortage caused by obstructed access of transportation, drinking-water shortage caused by unusable wells, and lack of shelters for the victims. The Government of Viet Nam has therefore requested emergency assistance to the Government of Japan, while making maximum efforts to support those in need.
The Government of Japan decided to extend this emergency assistance to Viet Nam from a humanitarian viewpoint and in light of the friendly relations between Japan and Viet Nam.

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