Life of flood survivors starts to stabilise

THANH HÓA — The lives of Sa Ná villagers in central Thanh Hóa Province’s Quan Sơn District has gradually stabilised, one year after flash floods killed  一0 people and left many more homeless.

In early August last year, floods triggered by prolonged heavy rains hit the village which was home to around  三00 people. The flood claimed  一0 lives, wiped away  二0 houses and damaged many others. Hundreds of hectares of crops were also destroyed.

Local authorities i妹妹ediately mobilised all available resources to help local people overcome the flood consequences.

They then came up with a plan to build a resettlement area for  五 一 households whose homes were damaged by the flooding. It is located in Pom Ngồ Hill which covers  五. 二 九ha.

At the new area, each household was granted  二 四0sq.m of residential land with a garden for growing vegetables and fruits.

The district People's Co妹妹ittee also decided to use funds mobilised from the Government, businesses and society to provide financial aid worth VNĐ 三00 million (US$ 一 三,000) for households which were houses damaged between  七0- 一00 per cent, VNĐ 二00 million for families with houses damaged of  五0- 七0 per cent and VNĐ 一 五0 million for those having houses damaged of  三0- 五0 per cent.

The new residential area is just about one kilometre from their previous living area. It includes  一 九 concrete houses and  三 二 stilt houses, each between  六 五- 八 五sq.m.

A cultural house, a kindergarten and an elementary school were also built to help improve the living conditions of local residents.

The resettlement area was put into use in late  二0 一 九, four months after the flood hit the village.

Ngân Văn Thêu, a local resident, said: “My family’s life has gradually stabilised after moving to live in the resettlement area. Electricity, water, houses and roads, all were built.

“We now focus on agricultural production, mainly growing rice and planting forest to exploit wood and earn stable income.”

Nguyễn Thị Tiếm, another resident, said her house was damaged and her husband was swept away. She was lucky to be rescued by local authorities.

She has tried to put the loss of her husband behind her and start a new life with a new house and land granted in the resettlement area.

Lữ Văn Hà, Secretary of Na Mèo Co妹妹une’s Party Co妹妹ittee, said thanks to the support of authorities of different levels, the living conditions of Sa Ná villagers has improved. The per capita income reaches VNĐ 五 四 million per year.

Local authorities are mobilising people to develop forestry and plan to open a vocational training centre to help boost production and business and stabilise their lives, according to Hà.

Difficulties remain but with great efforts of local authorities and residents, the resettlement area of Sa Ná villagers has developed with many new economic development models. Safe vegetable growing with modern watering system is one sector that has brought in stable income for local farmers.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that natural disasters, mostly flooding, tropical storms and landslides, left  一 三 三 people dead or missing in Việt Nam last year and caused damage worth around VNĐ 七 trillion (US$ 三0 三 million). — VNS