Red Cross societies help central city cope with climate change
How to help Tam Ky city in the central province of Quang Nam effectively respond to climate change was the focus of a workshop jointly held by the provincial Red Cross and the American Red Cross (ARC) in the city on April 1.
At the event, Rod Snider, senior advisor to the ARC, said that climate change-related calamities are responsible for 50 percent of the total damage caused by disasters in general.
The influx of people to cities and urban areas is increasing, he noted, adding that if cities have no effective response measures, disasters will push back their development, he noted.
Featuring urban, rural and coastal areas, Tam Ky city is suffering direct impact from climate change with annually increasing floods, salt water intrusions and temperatures.
According to Tran Van Cu, head of the city’s Division of Natural Resources and Environment, residential areas along rivers in Tam Ky are being hardest hit by climate change.
In an effort to ease climate change impact, Tam Ky has completed a project on assessing the impact of climate change and sea water level rise, built storm and flood shelters for residents, and disseminated information on this phenomenon to locals, he said.
It has also defined priority projects in climate change adaptation, focusing on raising public awareness and response capacity, he added.
At the seminar, the two societies agreed to implement a pilot project on improving climate change adaptation capacity for urban residents in a ward of the city.