Nghe An: More than 500 'floating houses' to shelter the poor from storms and floods

(Baonghean) - The policy of supporting the construction of storm and flood shelters according to Decision 48 of the Prime Minister has helped more than 510 poor households in Nghe An have decent and sturdy houses to withstand storms and floods. However, many poor households still lack "counterpart" capital to build storm and flood shelters.

510 flood shelters built

For decades, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ha in Hamlet 7, Quynh Hung Commune (Quynh Luu) has lived in a dilapidated tiled house, always afraid of the rainy and stormy season. Because the house is located next to the Thai River, when there is a storm or flood, the water in the house rises nearly 1 meter high. At times like that, she and her husband have to "take each other" to evacuate.

At the end of 2014, from the support amount of 12 million VND/household according to the policy of supporting poor households to build houses to prevent storms and floods, her family borrowed more to build a new house. In July 2015, the 2-room house with a high attic was completed, Mrs. Ha's family was really happy.

Implementing the policy of supporting the poor to build houses to prevent storms and floods, Quynh Luu district has 2,539 poor households, of which 6 poor households are eligible to be considered for building houses to avoid storms and floods according to Decision 48. Each household is supported with 12 million VND to build a house.

Mr. Nguyen Son Ha - Head of the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Quynh Luu district said that the 6 households above have finished building their houses, the disbursement has been completed; the people are excited to live in a new, sturdy house, with peace of mind when the rainy and stormy season comes.

The dilapidated, old tiled house (left photo) of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ha's family, Hamlet 7, Quynh Hung Commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Viet Hung

...and the two-room house is certainly thanks to the money from the policy to support building houses to prevent storms and floods and additional loans. Photo: Viet Hung

Dien Chau district is the locality that has built the most storm and flood-proof houses with 234 households approved, of which 147 houses have been supported (55 houses were built in 2015, 40 houses in 2016 and 52 houses in 2017). The total capital disbursed for the program in Dien Chau is 2,649 billion VND, of which the central budget capital is 1,764 million VND, and the Social Policy Bank capital is 885 million VND.

Mr. Ha Xuan Quang - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee said: "The district is urging to speed up the progress of house registration to promptly support according to regulations. Currently, there are 87 households promoting implementation according to this policy."

In Hung Nguyen district, after 3 years of implementation, the whole district has built 23 flood shelters, however, 4 households have withdrawn from the program. The houses in Hung Nguyen are mainly flood shelters with a special design for the area outside the dike. When needed, the whole family goes up to the flood shelter with essential belongings. Each shelter is only about 10 square meters wide, on the 2nd floor, with stairs going up and down.

According to the representative of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management - Nghe An Department of Construction, after 3 years of implementing Decision 48/CP, the number of houses supported in the province is 510, of which 380 are newly built houses, 130 are renovated and upgraded, reaching 85% of the total number of houses needing support (600 houses). Of which, the central budget capital is 9,670 million VND, the loan capital from the Social Policy Bank is 6,495 million VND, the total disbursed capital is 10,355 million VND.

During the implementation process, in addition to the State's support capital and loans as prescribed, localities have mobilized additional capital from the community and the participation and contributions of households. Therefore, most of the houses exceed the prescribed area and quality. The average area of ​​each house is about 45m2, of which the flood-proof floor has an area of ​​10 - 15m2. The average price of the houses is about 50 - 60 million VND, many houses cost up to 100 - 150 million VND.

Flood-proof house model outside the dike.

Many households do not have "counterpart" funds

It is difficult to deny the value of storm and flood-proof houses, especially in areas outside the dike, in estuaries and especially in the current extreme weather conditions. However, there are also many opinions that the limited budget is not enough and the support level of 12 million VND/house is too low, so many households do not have the conditions to "respond" to rebuild their houses, especially for those households that have difficulty borrowing from relatives, brothers or sisters or socialization does not reach them.

For example, in Hung Nguyen, the number of registered households was very large with 91 households, but only 23 households were approved and then 4 households withdrew because they did not meet the conditions to build a house. Dien Chau district also has many households that have not built a house because the support amount is small compared to a house that is intended to be sturdy enough to withstand storms and floods. Many families only "dare" to repair their houses but cannot build new houses as desired.

According to preliminary calculations by some households that have received support, the average cost of each house with a floor area of ​​40m2, including the floor area to avoid floods, is at least about 60 million VND. Therefore, with the low level of support from the State, many poor households have difficulty building houses to avoid storms and floods. Not to mention that currently, building a level 4 house in the countryside costs up to 100 million VND.

In recent years, the economic recession has made it difficult to mobilize additional capital sources. For the program to be effective, localities need to urge, direct and remove difficulties and obstacles, continue to call for good socialization work to soon build many solid houses for the poor to safely avoid storms and floods.

Chau Lan - Viet Hung