Scene of 4 years of 'temporary living' of people after emergency evacuation order in Tuong Duong

The shaky tents

Returning to Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong), what surprised us was that many families who were severely affected by the historic flood in 2018, at risk of flooding and landslides, had not yet been relocated to resettlement areas. There were still shacks on the banks of the Nam Non river, inside was a makeshift life, lacking everything.

Ms. Vi Thi Lan's family is among 12 households in La village that must be urgently relocated due to the impact of the flood in August 2018. The old house collapsed due to subsidence while there was no resettlement land, Ms. Lan's family had to build a temporary hut on the old land. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Mrs. Vi Thi Lan's family is among 12 households in La village that mustemergency evacuationdue to the impact of the flood in August 2018. The old house collapsed due to subsidence while there was no resettlement land, Ms. Lan's family had to build a temporary hut on the old land.

Leaning on the remaining wall and erecting some miscellaneous wooden poles to support the corrugated iron sheets, surrounded by tarpaulin, Mrs. Lan's hut looked extremely makeshift and messy. Just one heavy rain would cause water to leak and spill everywhere, wetting all the furniture inside, and a strong wind would blow away all the tarpaulins surrounding it. The rain continued, the river water showed signs of rising, the whole family lost sleep and appetite, taking turns monitoring the water level to evacuate in time.

Mrs. Lan's mother-in-law is over 80 years old, sitting on the bed all day, surrounded by emptiness, her old eyes looking out at the river as if waiting for something. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Compared to other households in the same situation, Mrs. Lan’s family is in a more difficult situation as all members are old and sick. Not long ago, her husband passed away after a period of illness. The people of La village still remember the day of Mrs. Lan’s husband’s funeral, the sky was pouring rain, the coffin placed in the hut was wet because of a leak, and the family members were also soaked from head to toe.

The mourners who witnessed the scene could not hold back their tears, not only because they felt sorry for the deceased, but also for the living who had to continue to endure this makeshift life. Currently, Mrs. Lan's mother-in-law is over 80 years old, sitting on the bed all day, surrounded by emptiness, her old eyes looking out at the river as if waiting for something.

Mr. Lo Van Toan's family set up a temporary tent at the resettlement area in La village. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Ms. Vi Thi Lan confided: “For more than 4 years, my family has been living in a chaotic, cramped situation, always in a state of anxiety, worry, waiting, and hope. We just hope to soon have a piece of land to build a small house so we can have a more decent place to live…”.

Climbing a rather long slope, we went up to the area.Resettlementof La village is located halfway up the mountain. Some households have started building foundations and walls but are facing difficulties in water supply for construction. Due to lack of funds to build a house, Mr. Lo Van Toan's family came here to build a makeshift hut with a few corrugated iron sheets placed on poles, surrounded by tarpaulins, torn mats and sacks, the front of which is still bare.

The messy scene in the tent of Mr. Lo Van Toan's family. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Mr. Toan's family's kitchen is located in the middle of "four winds". Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Inside, there were all kinds of furniture and plastic cans used to hold water. Little Lo Thi Bun My (Mr. Toan’s daughter) said: “I can’t sit and study for long at night because the wind blows in and it’s very cold, and there’s no table to sit on, so sitting and studying on the bed makes me tired very quickly.”

In the villages of Luong Minh commune located alongNam Non River, the scene of people living in precarious tents is not uncommon. For more than 4 years, dozens of families have had to accept a temporary life while waiting to be relocated to safer new housing.

Hope to stabilize life soon

According to Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Minh Commune, the historic flood in 2018 caused landslides and swept away houses of 31 households in Minh Phuong, Xop Mat, La and Coi villages. At the same time, the construction of the Nam Non Hydropower Plant forced 34 households to relocate due to the risk of flooding.

Faced with that situation, the Government agreed to build two resettlement areas for households belonging to two groups: households affected by floods and households affected by the construction of Nam Non Hydropower Plant.

The resettlement area in La village has been basically completed. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

The terrain of Luong Minh commune is mainly high mountains, people mainly live along rivers and streams, so finding land and building resettlement areas is not easy. After surveying,Xiangyang DistrictTwo sites have been selected for site clearance to build two resettlement areas.

The first area in Minh Phuong village has 17 plots of land for 17 households affected by the flood in August 2018 (while the total number of affected households is 31, meaning there is a shortage of 14 plots of land). In 2020, this resettlement area was completed and organized for people to draw lots to choose plots of land.

Some households have built houses in the resettlement area of ​​La village. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

But soon after, storms and heavy rains continuously caused the embankment and embankment to collapse and cracks to appear. After inspection, the provincial leaders requested to temporarily stop the relocation to re-survey the geology, and only when there was a conclusion that it was safe could people move in.

According to Mr. Phuc, in July 2022, after a survey, geological experts said that in this area, only the roof collapsed, not affecting the depth, so it was possible to continue building a resettlement area. However, up to now, the superiors have not yet directed the locality to organize the relocation of people to a new place.

The resettlement area in La village has built roads, electricity grid system and water tank. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Up to now, 11/17 households have requested to freely relocate to other locations, of the remaining 6 households, 2 have built houses and moved to live in the resettlement area.

It is worth mentioning that in La village, 12 households are among the 31 households that are subject to emergency evacuation due to the severe impact of the flood in August 2018. While the resettlement area in Minh Phuong village only has 17 lots, these 14 households do not have land to relocate to, and are still living on the old land in anxiety and worry.

A corner of the resettlement area in Minh Phuong village. Photo: Cong Kien

According to mechanical calculations, the resettlement area in Minh Phuong village still has 11 plots of land (belonging to 11 households who do not need to live there because they have bought land elsewhere that is more reasonable, but because these households have drawn lots and of course, they still want to keep their rights in the resettlement area).

The second resettlement area built in La village has enough 34 plots of land for 34 households that have to relocate due to the construction of Nam Non Hydropower Plant. Up to now, it has been basically completed, items such as roads, electricity grid and water tanks have been built, some households have gathered materials and built house foundations.

Due to the difficulties and complications in relocation and resettlement, many households are still living in precarious, makeshift huts. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

However, due to the long construction period, 14/34 households have proactively searched for a location and relocated to a new place, while the remaining 20 households have a need for resettlement, meaning there are 14 surplus plots of land here. The local government wants to merge 12 households in La village who do not have land to relocate due to construction.hydroelectricbut not accepted, because it is not within the scope of the project.

Because of the above mentioned problems and difficulties, many households are still living in precarious, makeshift huts. In more than 4 years, 8 people have died in these huts…