UNISDR

Cao Phan Viet: Community rapid response teams save lives in shipwrecks

Dong Tay Hai village in Viet Nam, with its 350 households and 1,300 residents, lies next to the sea. Annually, it is affected directly by three to four typhoons and tropical depressions, on average. The villagers depend on fishing and paddy rice cultivation. Their fishing vessels are simple motor-driven bamboo rafts, while their farmland is very small and affected by saline intrusion.

Dong Tay Hai Rapid Response Team (RRT) was one of 63 set up at the end of 2011, under the support of the Coastal Areas of Thanh Hoa Province Resilient to Natural Disasters (CATREND) project. Members of the RRTs are trained and equipped for first aid and rescue, climate change and Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) Planning, and exercise regularly.

“My family has been living here for many generations. We usually respond to natural disasters based on our experience. This is the first time that we’ve been trained and practiced in first aid, rescue and CBDRM planning,” said Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoi, a RRT member at Dong Tay Hai.

When storm No.10 hit the north of Viet Nam in October 2013, the ship NĐ-1533, which was carrying five people and 1,000 tons of cement from Nam Dinh province, went adrift and was wrecked off Hoang Thanh commune.

Receiving information about the ship, the Dong Tay Hai RRT took first aid and rescue equipment and rowed out to save the sailors onboard. Because of high waves and strong wind, the RRT’s motor raft could not come up close to the ship, so the team members had to swim a hundred meters. They applied their first aid and rescue skills and saved the five sailors from drowning.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuy, Vice Chairperson of Hoang Hoa People’s Committee, Head of CATREND project management of Hoang Hoa district was on the scene.

“I’m very happy because our RRT has rescued five sailors from drowning. I do not know what would have happened if the RRT came late or if the members were not trained and equipped,” he said, praising the rescuers for their skill and courage. In recognition, he awarded the RRT a 500,000- VND cash bonus for its live-saving efforts.

“In the past, we felt anxious when the storm hit our village, we did not know to do anything except follow some instructions from local government but now we are more active and confident in preparing and responding to storm,” said Mr. Trieu Dinh Duyen, leader of Dong Tay Hai’s RRT.

Cao Phan Viet is a CATREND Project Officer.  Thanks also go to Le Van Duong, National Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs Coordinator at World Vision International in Viet Nam, for submitting this post.