Experience of living with floods in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - For many people in the communes outside the Lam River dike, every time it rains, it floods. Living with floods has become a matter of food and water for the people.
Every year, during the rainy season, water from upstream flows down, causing the Lam River to rise, flooding and isolating hundreds of households in Hamlet 1, Chau Nhan Commune, Hung Nguyen District (Nghe An Province).
However, with the mindset of "living with floods", households here have had many plans to ensure the safety of people and property - building self-rescue islands, cupboards, and flood shelters; people are no longer afraid of floods and are no longer passive when floods come.
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| People in Chau Nhan commune were flooded. Photo: Quang An |
Chau Nhan commune was formed by merging two communes, Hung Chau and Hung Nhan, in 2019. In which, Hung Nhan commune (old) with more than 1,000 households living outside the Lam river dike is considered the "flood center" of Hung Nguyen district.
It is all too familiar that every year during the flood season, more than 1,000 houses of households in Chau Nhan commune (formerly Hung Nhan) are flooded due to water pouring in from upstream.
According to many locals, if it rains continuously for 3 days, the water level could rise by 1.5-2m and turn Hung Nhan commune (old) into a half-submerged island isolated from surrounding localities.
To cope with flood water, for many years now, when building houses, households living outside the Lam River dike have raised the house floor 1-1.5m above the road surface.
Families with good conditions build 2-3 story houses and flood shelters; families with average economic conditions build self-rescue islands and design lofts.
Ms. Cao Thi Nguyet (Hamlet 1, Chau Nhan Commune) recalled that in her life she had witnessed many historic floods such as in 1978, 1988 and 2000. The flood water rose very quickly at night, people rushed to the dike to take refuge; the local government focused on mobilizing forces to evacuate the elderly and children.
The flood water rose rapidly, sweeping away many properties, household items and even livestock and poultry.
Since 2011, with State support, some households in Hamlet 1, Hung Nhan Commune (old) have built flood shelters, of which the State supported 10 million VND and lent 10 million VND, and the local government mobilized forces to support working days.
From the flood shelter model, over the years, with experience and the mindset of living with floods, households have creatively built self-rescue islands and lofts at low cost and convenient for people's daily life, while creating a place to take shelter when floods come.
With self-rescue, people often build an attic next to the main house with an area of about 15-20m2, 2.8-3m higher than the floor, with stairs to bring buffalo, cows, pigs, goats... up to avoid the flood.
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| Poorer households were fortunate to receive government support to build flood-proof houses many years ago. Thanks to this preparation, despite being submerged in floodwaters, people on the other side of the Lam River are still proactively overcoming the natural disaster. Photo: MH |
Mr. Nguyen Van Ngu (Hamlet 1, Chau Nhan Commune) said the cost of building a self-rescue island is from 30-50 million VND depending on the area. Wealthier families will build a flood shelter at a cost of about 100 million VND, with 4-8 reinforced concrete pillars, poured first floor, stairs to the upper floor, tiled or corrugated iron roof.
With these flood response methods, people no longer worry every time the flood comes, and do not have to evacuate to the dike when the water suddenly rises.
Besides, in the flood season, to have clean water during the flood season, households also build cylindrical water tanks up to 4-5m high; water is led by plastic pipes from the roof to the tank, when flood water surrounds, people still have clean water to use even though they have "drained" it to the huts and attics.
In the houses of households outside the dike, there are always small wooden boats and bamboo basket boats - the main means of transportation during the flood season.
In addition to the flood shelters, attics, and self-rescue islands built by the people, Hung Nhan commune (old) also has a community flood shelter built right on the premises of the old headquarters of the People's Committee of Hung Nhan commune.
Community flood shelters are designed with water systems, kitchens, etc. When there is a big flood, the elderly and children will be brought to live in community houses to ensure safety.
With high flood shelters, people are proactive when floods come. (Photo: Ta Chuyen/VNA)
Mr. Phan Dinh Hoan, Chairman of the People's Council of Chau Nhan Commune (formerly Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Nhan Commune) said that due to the characteristics of the commune being a "flood center" located completely outside the Lam River dike, the government and people are always proactive and ready to live with floods according to the motto "4 on-site."
Currently, among more than 1,000 households living outside the dike, besides many families with economic conditions that have built 2-3 story houses, about 70% of households have built flood shelters, self-rescue mounds, and cupboards to ensure the safety of people's lives and property when floods come.
In addition, with the mindset of always being proactively ready to respond to floods, local authorities also pay special attention to propaganda work to raise people's awareness in responding to floods.
When there is information about storms and tropical depressions that are likely to cause heavy rain and rapid rise in the Lam River, people prepare plans to move their assets, cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. to flood shelters and islets to save themselves. Thanks to that, the loss of life and property caused by floods in recent years in households in Chau Nhan commune has been minimized.
Not only Chau Nhan commune, in some localities that are frequently flooded such as Hung Loi commune (Hung Nguyen district), Nam Cuong commune (Nam Dan district), people have also proactively built flood shelters and self-rescue islands to cope with floods.
Nghe An is a locality that suffers heavy damage from floods every year. However, with years of experience in coping with floods and proactively having creative flood response plans, people in some "flood-prone" areas of Nghe An province are somewhat more secure when the flood season comes; damage to people, property and livestock has also decreased significantly in recent flood seasons./.
