From 2025 to the present, Điện Biên has been affected by 15 waves of natural disasters, including severe and damaging cold, hailstorms, tornadoes, lightning strikes, heavy rain, flash floods, landslides, and earthquakes. Natural disasters have caused casualties and damage to housing, property, rice, and crops; many transport and irrigation works have been damaged and congested. From the beginning of the year to date, the provincial forest protection force has detected over 200 fire spots caused by people burning vegetation on swidden fields with regenerating timber trees, along with nearly 40 fire spots affecting more than 43 hectares of natural forest.

Senior Colonel Trịnh Đức Thiêm, Commander of the provincial Military Command and Deputy Head of the provincial Civil Defense Steering Committee, stated that to proactively address the situation of natural disasters and incidents occurring in the area, the provincial Military Command and other forces have advised the provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee to issue many directive documents on civil defense, natural disaster prevention, search and rescue, forest fire prevention and fighting, and disaster response. The units strictly maintain the regime of combat readiness, disaster prevention, and rescue and relief duty, regularly reviewing and supplementing plans, and organizing drills and exercises closely matching local realities.

The coordination mechanism between the military, police forces, departments, branches, and local authorities is becoming increasingly tight, unified, and effective. During natural disasters, landslides, or forest fires, the forces promptly mobilized manpower and vehicles to evacuate people from dangerous areas, provide emergency aid to the injured, and care for the people’s health. At the same time, they supported overcoming the consequences, environmental sanitation, and repairing houses, traffic routes, and essential works, helping people quickly stabilize their lives.

For the forest protection force, inter-sectoral coordination has clearly demonstrated effectiveness in forest management and protection, as well as forest fire prevention and fighting, one of the important civil defense tasks in the area. Hà Lương Hồng, Director of the provincial Forest Protection Division, stated that they determine prevention as the main focus, proactively controlling the risk of forest fires right from the grassroots level. When a fire occurs, people will quickly report it to local authorities, local forest rangers, or functional forces to mobilize firefighting according to the “4 on-the-spot” motto. Thanks to proactive response and effective coordination among forces, many fires have been promptly controlled, even in rugged, hard-to-reach areas.

With a proactive spirit from the grassroots, localities in the province are actively implementing many solutions to improve the effectiveness of civil defense work. Tuần Giáo commune has integrated civil defense tasks with the implementation of socio-economic development goals. Simultaneously, they mobilized and diversified resources serving natural disaster prevention and search and rescue. They strengthened the direction of military, police, and socio-political organizations in coordinating to mobilize forces and prepare materials and vehicles according to the “4 on-the-spot” motto, aiming to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters. Before the upcoming rainy and stormy season, the commune proactively reviews areas at risk of landslides and flash floods, preparing forces and vehicles ready to respond and ensure safety for the people.

Dissemination work to raise awareness for cadres, party members, and the people regarding civil defense tasks, as well as avoidance and response skills when incidents occur, has been promoted. The role of on-the-spot forces, the self-defense militia, and shock teams for natural disaster prevention at the grassroots level continues to be promoted. The people have united and actively participated in forest protection, fire prevention and fighting, and supporting functional forces when situations arise. Cháng A Vàng, a resident of Na Son commune, shared that thanks to regular dissemination, people in the village have raised their awareness of proactive and active response to natural disasters, no longer being subjective as before. When an incident arises, everyone unites to support each other and coordinates with forces to handle it promptly.

It is forecasted that in the coming time, the situation of natural disasters, extreme weather, and safety risks will continue to develop complicatedly. This requires party committees, authorities at all levels, and forces to improve the quality of coordination, proactively grasp the situation, fully prepare forces and vehicles, and be ready to effectively handle all situations.

In its role as the standing body of the provincial Civil Defense Steering Committee, the provincial Military Command continues to advise the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on developing, reviewing, and adjusting civil defense and natural disaster prevention plans linked to socio-economic development and the building of a solid defensive zone. At the same time, they perfect coordination regulations, promote the effectiveness of the “4 on-the-spot” motto, and ensure unified direction and administration from the province to the grassroots level.

Natural disasters always harbor many unpredictable risks for a mountainous border province like Điện Biên. Therefore, close and unified coordination among forces in civil defense work becomes an important “shield” protecting the lives and property of the people, maintaining stability in the area.