Vietnam is seriously affected by natural disasters every year. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and the National Disaster Mitigation Partnership (Vietnam) highlight storms, floods, inundation, drought, salt water intrusion, storm surges, landslides, and flash floods as the most common disasters affecting the country. 

The goal of the CWS Emergency Response Program is to assure that vulnerable persons and communities, in the aftermath of natural and human caused disasters, will achieve long-term physical, psychological and spiritual recovery and acquire sustainable forms of preparedness. In Vietnam, CWS works in conjunction with the Disaster Mitigation Working Group, the Natural Disaster Mitigation Partnership, and local Centers for Storm and Flood Control. In the aftermath of a disaster, CWS will work with these national agencies to provide direct financial and material resource assistance to affected families. 

 

Sphere training series in three provinces In an effort to support local Government agencies at provincial, district and commune levels better to cope with situations in emergency response and preparedness, CWS in cooperation with Oxfam Hong Kong and Disaster Management Centre (DMC) organized a training series in three pilot provinces Thua Thien – Hue (in June 2007), Lai Chau (in July 2007) and Ben Tre (in August 2007). The purposes of these trainings are to introduce participants to the Government’s guidelines on Flood and Storm Control, the Natural Disaster Damage and Need Assessment guidelines, and the Sphere minimum standards as well as the promotion of applying the same in response to disaster emergency situations.	CWS provides supplies to Phu Nham commune health centre in the wake of Hurricane Damrey
Thua Thien-Hue people receiving relief rice in Dec 2007 Relief distribution in Quang Dien in Dec 2007	CWS-Nordic Assistance in Vietnam (NAV) joint relief aid project in Thua Thien - Hue province Since the typhoon Lekima, which ravaged the central coast of Vietnam in September 2007, this part of the country has suffered from a long spell of continuous floods. Thua Thien – Hue is one of the most severely affected areas. In response to the appeal called by the People’s Aid Coordination Committee (PACCOM), on December 29th, 2007, CWS in collaboration with NAV organized a joint aid relief distribution for 440 poor households of 1,990 people in 3 communes of Quang Dien district, Thua Thien–Hue province. Each family was provided with rice, cooking oil, fish sauce, canned meat and shrimp paste that will support them for 3 weeks. This was followed by distribution of mosquito nets in January 2008.
Durian storm response On December 5, 2006, Typhoon Durian hit the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. The typhoon claimed 73 lives, injured over 1500 people, and caused millions of dollars in damage. CWS responded by sending an assessment team to Tan Lap commune, a coastal area of Long An province. A total of 57 families whose homes were destroyed received emergency housing repair support, and 2 families classified as “extreme poor” received new homes. CWS continues to work with Oxfam and CARE in the Mekong Delta to provide relief to affected families.	Destroyed house after Durian storm in Tan Lap commune, Long An province

ERP Plan Review and Update 

The CWS Vietnam’s Emergency Response and Preparedness (ERP) Plan for 2007 was reviewed and updated in February 8-9 preparing in advance for the coming tropical storm season. This year, the workshop has been conducted with participation of a staff from Nordic Assistance in Vietnam (NAV) for their information sharing and learning as well as for a possible joint programming between the two organizations in the future. The plan for this year highlights its focus on building staff capacity and promotion of applying Sphere minimum standards in response to disaster emergency situations. 

Bridge washed away in Cat Thinh commune	Destruction caused by Hurricane Damrey	Damage caused to housing by flash flooding

 

Hurricane Damrey Relief

On September 27, 2005, Hurricane Damrey came ashore in northern Vietnam causing flash floods, landslides and the worst flooding seen in coastal Yen Bai province in 40 years. Damrey left 63 people dead in Vietnam and displaced 337,000. It also dealt a major blow to the regions infrastructure, destroying 10,000 houses and 54 kilometers of sea-dikes, and inundating 60,000 hectares of crops. About 200 schools and 45 medical clinics also suffered damage. CWS was able to provide initial emergency financial aid, as well as supplying the worst affected district, Van Chan, with essential medical equipment.

Click on the link below to find out more about CWS Emergency Response Program.