Dyke Safety Prioritized from the Start of the Year

Disaster Management Policyand Technology Center

Management - Cooperation - Work together

9:13:21, 13/03/2026 To ensure effective natural disaster prevention and control, the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has been coordinating with local authorities to inspect and guarantee dyke safety since the beginning of the year.

Director General Pham Duc Luan, along with officials from the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (MARD), coordinated with the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee to inspect the Hai Thinh sea dyke and revetment system in Hai Thinh Commune, Ninh Binh.

The total length of the dyke passing through Hai Thinh Commune is 7.288km. Since September 2025, this section has seen nine locations with severe erosion and revetment collapse, posing a direct threat to the safety of the entire dyke and revetment system in the area.

Joint inspection of the Hai Thinh dyke line by the Department of Dyke Management and the Ninh Binh People's Committee.

This situation requires local authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promptly renovate and upgrade critical dyke sections. The most urgent priority is to mobilize resources for constructing new wave-breaking berms, T-head groynes, and reinforcing revetments.

Earlier, a working group from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met with Bac Ninh province to discuss solutions for mitigating flooding following historic rains. According to Bac Ninh's report, the province currently has 274 reservoirs (including 41 with a capacity of 500,000 $m^3$ or more), 203 dams, 12,282km of canals, and 1,405 pumping stations of various scales.

However, over 75% of these pumping stations were built before 1990, featuring dilapidated machinery, obsolete technology, and low operational efficiency. Additionally, main irrigation rivers and internal canal systems are heavily silted or eroded, narrowing water flows. Many small dams and reservoirs have been in service for a long time and suffer from frequent damage.

Notably, these works were originally designed for agricultural drainage but are now burdened with draining industrial zones and urban areas, completely altering design requirements and operational capacity. In reality, many systems reach only 60-70% of their designed capacity—and as low as 50% in some areas—leading to prolonged flooding that severely impacts production and daily life.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep, 2026 marks the beginning of the 2026-2030 period and a new term, requiring fresh perspectives on disaster prevention. He emphasized that disaster management can no longer be reactive or handled on a case-by-case basis; instead, it must follow a long-term strategy with a clear doctrine and methodical planning. Science, technology, digital transformation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are key factors to enhancing proactivity, ensuring the country is not caught off guard by natural disasters.