On the evening of 21 July, as Storm No. 3 (Typhoon Wipha) developed unpredictably, Comrade Le Tien Chau, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the City Party Committee and Head of the Hai Phong National Assembly Delegation, visited and encouraged residents at evacuation shelters in Ngo Quyen Ward. He was accompanied by City Party Committee Standing Committee members: Le Ngoc Chau, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the City People’s Committee; Le Anh Quan, Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee; Nguyen Duc Tuan, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the city; and Pham Van Thep, Director of the Department of Science and Technology.
Ngo Quyen Ward currently has 66 evacuation shelters accommodating about 2,000 people, mostly households living in 16 Grade-D apartment buildings—old structures that may become unsafe during storms. By 7:00 p.m. on 21 July, 1,016 of 1,120 households in 14 Grade-D buildings had been moved, reaching 90.8%, representing 1,801 of 1,909 residents. The relocation of elderly people, patients and children to safe places was basically complete. The remaining 104 households had not moved because they were away, absent from their residence or had voluntarily sheltered with relatives.
At shelters including Quang Trung Primary School and the 8 March Preschool, Secretary Le Tien Chau visited residents, offered encouragement and listened to their concerns. Most were vulnerable households facing difficult circumstances and sheltering for safety amid complicated storm conditions. He stressed that encouraging residents to move to shelters was an urgent decision to protect their lives and health from natural disasters. All levels of government would ensure the absolute safety of residents’ property at their homes; localities would arrange medical staff on duty 24 hours a day, with special attention to older people, those with underlying illnesses and young children; ensure food safety and environmental hygiene at collective shelters; and continue urging the remaining households to move promptly before landfall.
On behalf of the city leadership, Secretary Le Tien Chau presented gifts to the sheltering households and expressed his wish that residents would stay calm, remain united and cooperate with the authorities to overcome this difficult period. Residents expressed emotion, trust and strong support for the close attention of the city leadership, and praised the locality’s careful preparations of facilities, essential supplies and living conditions at the shelters.
Source: Hai Phong City Electronic Information Portal