Spearheaded by local authorities, the new residential area stretches five hectares along the Pom Ngo hillside, about a kilometer from where 51 families lost their previous homes to flooding. In early August last year, heavy rains inundated Sa Na Village in Na Meo Commune, Quan Son District, claiming 10 lives, wiping away 20 homes and destroying many others while residents slept. The village was home to more than 300 people, most from the Thai minority group. |
The project includes 19 concrete houses and 32 stilt houses, each between 65-85 square meters. "The 19 families who got the concrete houses had lost their entire property in the flood. The others preferred to erect stilt homes following Thai custom," Vu Van Dat, chairman of Quan Son District People's Committee, said. |
Besides, a culture house, a kindergarten and an elementary school have been built to serve the battered community. |
After finishing their stilt house, a couple erects steel posts needed for their kitchen and bathroom. |
A new embankment to prevent further erosion. "We will work hard to finish construction before the Lunar New Year," Lu Van Ha, a local official, said. The country's biggest festival peaks on January 25. |
Soldiers assist the community with the construction. |
Hoang Xuan Luyen sits with his son on their new porch. The family lost a three-month-old infant to the disaster. Luyen himself was swept away five kilometers downstream but was fortunate to survive. "We have to forget the pain and rebuild our life," he said. |
One of the houses destroyed by the flood in Sa Na. Of the 10 persons pronounced dead, only four bodies were found. A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report stated natural disasters, mostly flooding, tropical storms and landslides, left 133 people dead or missing in Vietnam last year, and caused damage worth around VND7 trillion ($302.6 million). |