“Don’t play with natural disasters” wins first prize of film contest
The nine-minute documentary “Dung dua voi thien tai” (Don’t play with natural disasters) by Khanh Hoa province’s TV and Radio won the first prize of the short reportage and film contest, themed “Extreme natural disasters – lessons of the past and ideas for future actions”.
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The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held the awards ceremony in Hanoi on May 22.
The winning documentary reveals how a storm destroyed all the life savings of local people in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa early in the morning of November 4, 2017.
The organisation board also presented a second prizes to “Lu quet Mu Cang Chai – Nguyen nhan hinh thanh va Moi so giai phap (Flash Floods in Mu Cang Chai – Causes and Solutions) by Vietnam Television and “Chuyen cai ao” (The Story of a Pond) by Soc Trang TV and Radio. Three third prizes and three consolation prizes were also awarded.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, permanent member of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Tran Quang Hoai highlighted the crucial role of the media in reducing destruction caused by natural disasters.
Natural disaster predictions and warnings need to be disseminated quickly and precisely to the public via different means, he added.
Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, said the competition recognised the importance of the media in providing knowledge and skills to contribute to natural disaster prevention efforts.
At the end of the awards ceremony, the 2018 contest with the theme “Minimising destruction caused by natural disasters and proactively adapting to climate change starting from communities” was launched.
The contest aims to improve media coverage of natural disaster preparedness and improve public awareness of disasters.
It also supports the realisation of targets set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Over the past 20 years, natural disasters have left some 400 dead and missing and caused economic damage of about 1-1.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) yearly.
2017 was considered a year of extreme weather, with heavy and prolonged downpours, landslides, flashfloods and storms resulting in 386 dead and missing and some VND60 trillion (US$2.6 billion) worth of damage.
