Hanoi (VNA) - The Dutch and Spanish Red Cross societies have funded a 5.4 billion VND project to help 16 villages prone to natural calamities in four central provinces to raise public awareness and build facilities against the problem.

Kicking off in January, 2007, the project has helped raise public awareness about disaster mitigation, especially among the high-risk group of primary school pupils. They have also been equipped with rescue and first-aid skills, learnt how to rescue drowning friends and provide first aid to victims and practise these lessons in out-door classes during week-ends.

Additionally, 16 projects to reduce consequences have been built, including sewages, bridges and canals to help regulate water levels to avoid droughts and floods, emergency roads just in case, and water tanks for daily use.

These projects, though with small-scaled investments, have also helped protect the environment, facilitate traffic flows and boost agricultural production.

For instance, at a cost of just 150 million VND, the Phu Khe concrete bridge in Phu Vang district, Thua Thien-Hue province, has provided safe traffic for over 3,000 passer-bys in the rainy seasons. The previous one was much lower-than-river water level and seriously damaged that posed a high risk to thousands of passer-bys a day, including a large number of school children, in rains or floods.

In Quang Dien district, also Thua Thien-Hue province, an emergency road linking residential quarters with a small river port will help evacuate thousands of locals from flooded areas to safer places.

In Phan Cu Ri township of Binh Thuan province, locals have been equipped with walkie-talkies to help fishermen in off-shore operations keep in touch with rescue stations on land in case of storms.