Hundreds of poor households in Nghe An have built flood-proof houses.

After harvesting rice and crops, Ms. Ho Thi Thao in hamlet 7, Chau Nhan commune,Hung Nguyen districtagain doing the familiar job of packing food into packages, bringing it to the upper attic of the hut for preservation. This is a flood-proof house that was built with support from the State since 2013, and has so far sheltered Mrs. Thao's family for nearly a decade, through many storms and floods.

During the rainy and stormy season, people in the flood-prone area of ​​Chau Nhan, Hung Nguyen district have to move food to higher ground for preservation. Photo: Quang An

Not far from Mrs. Thao's house, Mr. Au Van Dan's family is also busy with the work of raising furniture on the stilt house, ready to withstand this year's rainy and stormy season. Mr. Dan shared: "In the past, my family had a hard time, the house was dilapidated, so in years of high floods like 1988 or 2010, the water level reached 2/3 of the house, only people were able to keep it, while livestock and furniture were almost all swept away. In 2014, the family received 10 million VND from the State, a loan of 10 million VND, together with 20 million VND saved, we were able to build a flood-proof stilt house. Although the area is small and the cost is not high, it has helped my family stay safe through many rainy and stormy seasons."

According to Chau Nhan commune statistics, the whole commune has 73 poor and near-poor households supported to build flood-proof huts. Since having safe flood-proof huts during the rainy and stormy season, the burden of the people has been lightened, people have worked hard, produced, and stabilized their lives.

Mr. Dan's flood-proof hut is still solid after 8 years of construction: Photo: Quang An

Not only households in the downstream areas, many poor households in mountainous communes are also supported by the State to build houses to prevent natural disasters, floods and storms. The family of Mr. Lo Van Hieu, in Chieng village, Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district, is located along the Nam Viec river. Every rainy and stormy season, the river water rises high, flows rapidly, and sweeps away many belongings, food, and livestock, causing the family to always live in difficult and deprived conditions, and is considered a poor household in the locality.

In 2015, Mr. Hieu's family received over 10 million VND from the State and was given a loan of 15 million VND from the Social Policy Bank under Decision 48 of the Prime Minister. With the savings, Mr. Hieu was able to build a new, more solid and sturdy house. Since then, the family has been able to live in peace, increase production, and reduce worries during the rainy and stormy season.

According to data from the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Que Phong district, 67 ethnic minority households in the area have been supported to build houses to prevent floods and storms according to Decision 48 of the Prime Minister, concentrated in the communes of Nam Giai, Cam Muon, Quang Phong, Hanh Dich, Tien Phong, and Thong Thu. Since having houses to prevent natural disasters, people in the highlands have felt more secure every rainy and flood season, not having to worry about the situation of "living under the open sky and sleeping on the ground".

Flood-proof houses help Lo Van Hieu's family in Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district overcome many natural disasters. Photo: Quang An

According to the report of Nghe An Department of Construction, the whole province has had 504 poor households supported to build flood-proof houses according to Decision 48 of the Government in 13 districts, of which 202 households are ethnic minorities, 33 households are elderly, single, disabled, 45 households are living in administrative units in difficult areas and especially difficult villages, 223 households reside in the remaining areas. The total capital disbursed to support the construction of storm-proof and flood-proof houses is 15.3 billion VND, of which the Central Budget capital is over 7 billion VND, the Social Policy Bank loan is 5.7 billion VND, and other mobilized capital sources are 2.6 billion VND.

Despite its effectiveness, the number of poor households in the province is still high, while the weather is increasingly erratic, and storms with unpredictable levels of danger are always a constant threat to poor households.

People stock up on food and belongings in flood shelters. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Bui Van Hien - Vice Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee said: The program to support housing against natural disasters, floods and storms has helped poor households in Que Phong district escape from the situation of temporary, degraded houses made of bamboo, thatch, and leaves, have a place to avoid storms and floods, and stabilize their lives.

However, in reality, only 67 households have been supported under Decision 48, while the poverty rate according to the new standards in the district is still very high at 44.68%, including many households living in vulnerable areas, where flash floods and landslides frequently occur, such as Thong Thu, Quang Phong, Nam Nhoong, Nam Giai... Therefore, more policies are still needed to support the poor in building flood-proof houses in the new period.

Flooded roofs in Thanh My commune, Thanh Chuong district in 2020. Photo courtesy

A representative of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department, Nghe An Department of Construction, said: In the province, there are currently over 600 poor households receiving support to build houses to prevent natural disasters, floods and storms (according to Decision 716 and Decision 48 of the Prime Minister). In fact, the demand for disaster-resistant houses for poor households in the province is still very large.

To date, the Ministry of Construction is developing a policy to support poor households in building houses to prevent storms and floods according to the multidimensional poverty standards for the period 2021 - 2025 to submit to the Prime Minister for approval. It is expected that more poor households will be supported to build houses to prevent floods, storms and natural disasters in the coming period.