(VOVWORLD) - 4,100 storm- and flood-resistant houses have been built for families in Vietnam’s central region under a project called “Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change in Vietnam”, also known as the Green Climate Fund-financed project. The project was launched in 2018 by the Vietnamese Government in collaboration with the United Nations Development Agency in Vietnam (UNDP).
 A climate resilient house under the Green Climate Fund-financed project. (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
When a storm makes landfall, one’s house is likely to be the only shield against the fury of nature. But not everyone is safe in their own house.
Poor people mainly live in thatched houses with a flimsy door. When flood water arrives, these houses are easily submerged. It’s estimated that 60,000 houses in Vietnam are destroyed or damaged by flood every year.
Over the past 4 years, with the support of the government, UNDP, and the Green Climate Fund, more than 4,000 safe houses have been built for poor families. Many of the beneficiaries are women or elderly.
In September and October of 2020, Thua Thien-Hue province suffered two consecutive strong storms and historic flooding.
The house of Hoang Thi Thoan in Phu Loc village stood in flood water 1.4 meters deep. Because she had moved into a storm-resilient house with a flood-proof floor 2.5 meters high, Thoan was safely rescued from the flooding.
Thoan recalled, “I live alone and feel scared whenever storms or floods come. The new house and the food provided by the State helped me survive for 10 days during the flooding. I don’t worry any more when storms make landfall.”
Nguyen Thi Huyen of Thuan Binh commune in Quang Ngai province is another beneficiary of the safe house project.
During the flooding of October, 2020, nearby households had to evacuate to safer places, Huyen’s family stayed in their house and even sheltered a number of neighbors.
“Our storm-resilient house is very safe. It was constructed in March, 2020. The 2-meter-high house was built with state financial support on a house that collapsed after a storm in 2019. Now that I have a safer house, I’m no longer afraid of storms,” said Huyen.
Nguyen Thanh Lam, Deputy Chairman of Thuan Binh commune’s People’s Committee, says local people take more initiative in natural disaster response thanks to having more flood-resilient houses.
“30 safe houses have been built under the project. Local people are grateful to the project, the Party, and the Government. They never dreamed they would ever have such a house. We hope the project will build more houses like this so everyone can live more safely,” said Lam.
A UNDP report says more than 110,000 families still live in unsafe houses in Vietnam’s 28 coastal provinces.
The Vietnamese government is working closely with international organizations and development partners to protect these people's lives and livelihoods.