VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam will look towards advanced technologies to forecast natural disasters and help manage their fallout, the country's chief meteorologist said yesterday.

The country will also improve its disaster preparedness by attempting to lure weather experts into government work and offer international training to forecasters, said Bui Van Duc, director of the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre.

He made the comments during a workshop in Hanoi aimed at improving Vietnam's response to natural calamities like the two major typhoons that slammed into coastal regions last year.

The conference, organised by the national forecasting agency, the Danish International Development Agency and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, drew several domestic and international weather experts.

Most agreed that accurate forecasting and public awareness are keys to preventing deaths and commercial losses.

Vietnam has over 500 weather stations across the country, 125 of which send data to the national centre daily.

Duc said the country has, over the past few years, replaced obsolete equipment to improve forecasting.

(Source: Viet Nam News)