Disaster prevention efforts get a boost with Zalo mini-app: official

The launch of an interactive mini-app on messaging platform Zalo will facilitate communication and further strengthen disaster prevention and management efforts.

The mini-app will give teeth to the official Zalo page of the National Disaster Prevention and Control Steering Committee that has 311,000 followers at present, said Le Kim Xuyen, director of public services and digital transformation at Zalo Vietnam.

Xuyen was speaking at a cooperation agreement signed last Friday with the Department of Dyke Management and Flood and Storm Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

She said that since the page was set up in 2020, more than 120 million urgent Zalo messages have been sent to people in disaster-affected areas every year.

The page is constantly updated with accurate information on natural disasters and the way to respond before, during and after, she added.

Xuyen noted Zalo has enabled immediate delivery of information to people’s phones and helped reduce adverse impacts of disasters on people and property.

"After nearly 3 years of operation, the official Zalo page of the National Disaster Prevention and Control Steering Committee has more than 311,000 followers, making it a bridge for conveying important information from the national steering committee to people across the country," she said.

To build on this, the national steering committee, in partnership with UNICEF Vietnam, has launched the "Vietnam Disaster Prevention" mini-app on Zalo.

The app has several noteworthy features including emergency contact that help people contact local authorities in an emergency situation. It also carries updated information that will improve people’s knowledge and skills in disaster prevention and response.

Notably, the natural disaster function of the app is available in a variety of languages, including Dao, Mong, Thai, and Khmer. This will help ethnic minority communities to easily obtain and apply knowledge and skills in responding to natural disasters.