Abandoned resettlement area, dozens of households are on the brink of a river abyss.

Trembling at the mouth of the river god

Up to now, it has been nearly 1 month since the day storm No. 3 passed, it seems that on the faces and eyes of the people of Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune, the fear is still clearly written when talking about the flash flood on Nam Phu river that caused 3 houses to be completely washed away and dozens of other households to be seriously affected.

As one of the households swept away by the flood of Nam Phu river, up to now, Mr. Luong Hoa's family, Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune is still struggling to find a new place to live.

His family has settled in Muong Phu village for more than 20 years. In previous years, there were many floods but only caused a small landslide in the land behind the family home. After each flood season, he and his family rebuilt the embankment. Unexpectedly, the flood in July 2018 was so strong that it swept away his entire house.

The houses of Muong Phu villagers were eroded by floods and could not be rebuilt. Photo: Phuong Cuong

Sharing the same situation as Mr. Hoa's family, Ms. Vi Thi Tuong also had difficulty finding a new place to live.

“The district recently supported 20 million VND, I still keep this money here, not daring to touch even a single coin. But this is not enough for me to buy a piece of land to live on. There is also money to build a house. Now I don’t know what to do,” said Mrs. Tuong.

Mr. Luong Hoa and his wife are standing next to the land that was washed away by the flood and is now only half gone. Photo: Phuong Cuong.

Mr. Quang Van Tuan - Head of Muong Phu village said: "After the flood passed, up to now, the whole village still has nearly 10 households without a place to live. All of these households lost their houses due to landslides caused by the flood. Some families were able to dismantle their houses, but 3 households were completely swept away by the flood; more than 20 households were affected."

Ms. Luong Thi Hong - Chairwoman of Thong Thu Commune People's Committee said that there are currently more than 120 households in Thong Thu Commune living on both sides of the stream, facing the risk of flash floods and landslides every year, including 33 households in Muong Phu and Muong Piet villages that need to be urgently relocated. In particular, some households have been affected by flash floods and have no place to live yet.

Waste of abandoned resettlement areas

Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area has been abandoned for many years. Photo: Phuong Cuong

Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area in Thong Thu commune, Que Phong district is one of 17 resettlement sites invested in and built according to Decision No. 1414/QD-UBND-CN dated April 17, 2009 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee approving the master plan for resettlement of Hua Na Hydropower Project to serve the construction of Hua Na Hydropower Project in Dong Van and Thong Thu communes.

Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area was built by Que Phong District People's Committee and Hua Na Hydropower Company with the purpose of relocating 28 households that were subject to relocation for construction works to live here. Afterwards, the 28 households mentioned above found land and settled in another location.

Currently, some of the infrastructure built at Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area is under construction and has deteriorated. Some areas of land in the resettlement area have been eroded over time and many holes and ditches have appeared.

It is worth mentioning that this abandoned resettlement area is only about 3 km from Muong Phu and Muong Piet villages. Meanwhile, households are still worried about the flood affecting their lives and property. And in fact, some households are having to live in the open because of the recent storm No. 3.

Many items of the resettlement area have seriously degraded. Photo: Phuong Cuong

Discussing this issue, Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh - Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hua Na Hydropower Company said: Pu Sai Cang 2 Resettlement Area, which we are the investor, has been built quite basically in terms of items on solid ground. It was in the completion stage when the residents informed us that they would not come to live there, so we stopped.

Recently, Que Phong district expressed their wish to reclaim this resettlement area to relocate households affected by flash floods. The company completely agreed and did not have any requests. Hopefully, someone will come to live there to avoid waste.

Mr. Le Van Giap - Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee said: "The issue of resettlement land for households in urgent need of evacuation from flash flood, landslide and rockfall areas is a difficult problem not only in Que Phong. The district is paying great attention to this issue and is urgently working to help people evacuate as soon as possible. Particularly in Thong Thu commune, there are 33 households in urgent need of evacuation. And the district has also had a plan to move the above households in Muong Phu and Muong Piet to Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area.

Que Phong district has submitted a document to the provincial People's Committee and relevant departments and agencies to request permission to move these households to the Pu Sai Cang 2 resettlement area. However, the biggest problem is still the source of investment funding to continue completing the items so that people can move to this resettlement area.

Approving households to move to this new resettlement area will solve three problems. That is, solving the critical housing situation of households affected by landslides, saving the State's investment budget and preventing waste in the long-abandoned resettlement area.