Vietnam President Tô Lâm Calls for Proactive Disaster Risk Management

President and Party General Secretary Tô Lâm ordered a shift in Vietnam’s disaster‑risk approach, moving from passive response to proactive risk management. He stressed that disaster prevention must become a core component of sustainable development, linked to water, food, energy security and social stability. All planning, investment and production cycles are to embed risk assessments, data‑driven forecasts and early‑warning systems.

The directives, covering the period to the end of 2026, require ministries and local authorities to update emergency scenarios for floods, droughts, storms, landslides and urban flooding, and to assign clear responsibility to senior officials. Strict discipline will be enforced; leaders who relax controls on forest protection, river management or construction in flood corridors will be held accountable. Infrastructure projects must meet higher resilience standards, and community training on evacuation and early warning will be expanded.

Tô Lâm also warned that climate‑related extremes, such as El Niño‑driven heatwaves and severe storms, will likely intensify, demanding readiness for worse, faster‑spreading events. The government is to ensure that protection of citizens’ lives, especially vulnerable groups, remains the highest priority.