(VOVworld) - An online conference was held in Hanoi on Saturday to review last year’s flood and storm prevention and control as well as search and rescue activities. Measures to implement this year’s tasks were also high on the agenda The meeting also looked at 5 years of implementing the National Strategy on the Control and Mitigation of Natural Calamity until 2020. Last year, Vietnam was directly affected by four storms, which caused great losses in both human lives and property. 258 people died and reportedly missing, more than 6,200 houses collapsed, and 400,000 hectares of rice and crops were destroyed causing losses at 950 million USD. Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said ‘It’s necessary to strengthen the inspection and assessment of the quality of dykes, dams, and irrigation systems, develop plans on flood and storm prevention and control for reservoirs. We also need to to check and provide more facility for search and rescue work in provinces in emergency cases.’