OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Vietnam - Forest Fire
9 April 2002


This report is based on information provided by the UNDP Office in
Vietnam, the Disaster Management Unit and media reports.

Event and Impact

1.  A forest fire, that started on 23 March in the 8,000-hectare U Minh
Thuong National Park in the southern province of Ca Mau, is now raging out
of control and threatens to destroy thousands of hectares of forest.
Temperatures in the heart of the forest have soared to 50 degrees Celsius
and reached thousands of degrees in the 0.5 to 1.5 metre-thick smouldering
peat and coal layers. The combined high temperatures and strong winds have
occasionally produced large fireballs, endangering the remaining forest
and hampering efforts to extinguish the fire. A prolonged drought has
severely limited the availability of fresh water, which is hindering
fire-fighting efforts. U Minh Thuong Forest is ranked as the world's
second richest and largest mangrove forest after the Amazon rain forest in
Brasil.

2.  The fire is believed to have destroyed over 4,000 hectares of virgin
forest. This will affect the lives of thousands of poor families living in
the area, and will also have significant ecological impacts, including
loss of biodiversity and habitat to local species.


National Response

3.  Thousands of policemen, military, forest rangers and local residents
have joined forces to combat the fire. Fire fighters have isolated
approximately 5,000 hectares of virgin and newly planted forest by digging
a 6 metre-wide, 3 metre-deep and 10 metre-long canal, along which more
than 100 pumps are running 24 hours a day to provide water for the fire
fighting effort. A 10 metre-wide fire prevention belt is being cleared. So
far, digging ditches around the burning areas has been the only way to
halt the spread of the fire.

4.  The police and armed forces were mobilised on Tuesday, 2 April to
assist the fire fighters, and military units are said to be at the
forefront of the effort.

5.  The provincial authorities have mobilised all tractors and pumps owned
by residents in neighbouring areas.


General Information

6.  No request for international assistance has been received by OCHA to
date.

7.  OCHA is in close contact with the office of the United Nations
Resident Co-ordinator in Hanoi and will revert with further information.

8.  This situation report, together with further information on ongoing
emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int


Telephone: +41-22-91712 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Mr. R. Muller / Ms. M. Spaak / Ms. C. Cassabalian / Ms. P. Charlebois
  Direct Tel. +41-22-917 3131 / 1728/ 1173 / 1815

Press contact:
  (GVA)  Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 56
  (NYC)  Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32


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