Govt directs public to find flood facts from official media

The government has directed the public to get their information on authorities’ flood disaster response from state media, and to educate them on political ideology and maintain national solidarity.
The government directed the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism at its meeting on Monday to highlight the action taken to address this year’s flood disasters across the country.

Some negative critics have appeared especially on social media to criticise the government as the country encounters difficulties caused by the disasters.
Speaking to the media after the meeting on Monday, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office and Government Spokesman, Dr Chaleun Yiapaoher reminded those present about Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith’s call to the public about information consumption.
“We have to call on our people to use judgement in which media channel they should rely on,” Dr Chaleun quoted from a PM Thongloun statement, adding that state media was the official information source.
He explained that official mainstream media channels had their reporters collecting the facts in the field with their news reporting the actual events.
Regarding social media, Dr Chaleun said online channels that offered unbiased information based on the facts could be relied on, but members of the public should avoid negative channels that only criticised relief efforts.
He stressed the government’s concerns for disaster-hit people by concentrated all their forces amid limited resources.
Also speaking to media after the government meeting, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Ms Baykham Khattiya on behalf of the National Committee for Disaster Management explained the government’s emergency response plan for this year, which she said clarified prevention, emergency response, and relief measures.
Pre-disaster warnings about extreme weather were issued by the Department of Metrology and Hydrology, according to the deputy minister. She said the national committee coordinated with provincial committees and lower authorities to make preparations, especially making people aware and taking responsibility for protecting their lives and property from disaster.
“Our national committee met to decide the measures for the systematic emergency response to the disaster as we have prepared work, manpower, and budget plans,” Ms Baykham said.
She revealed that more than 4,200 armed forces personnel, over 1,600 public security officers, and more than 10,000 volunteers from youth unions had been deployed in rescue action along with assistance from other members of the public and organisations, which Ms Baykham said was not counted.
Some 134 vehicles, five helicopters and planes, and 85 boats from the army; 31 vehicles and 11 boats from public security forces, 49 boats from the labour and social welfare sector, and two trucks from each province have been put into action, with three water tankers standing by in the flood-hit areas.
The government authorised some 5 billion kip at the beginning for the response along with food and consumer supplies such as tents, household devices, drinking water, rice, dry food, blankets and mosquito nets, which were distributed to evacuated people in temporary accommodation.
These supplies have been shipped from warehouses in the flood-hit provinces, with the value to be calculated, according to the deputy minister. According to Ms Baykham, 1 billion kip in initial donations received from businesses and US$80,000 in aid from the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management had been shipped directly to the six flood-affected provinces.
Emergency centres have been set up in Vientiane and the flood-hit provinces and districts to monitor the disaster situation closely, as well as resident’s living conditions and their emergency needs.

By Somxay Sengdara
(Latest Update September 19, 2019)