People in Ky Son flood area anxiously wait for resettlement

Concerns as the flood season approaches

Returning to the flood-hit area of ​​Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune, although the scene of devastation and desolation is no longer as it was when the flood had just passed, the worrying thing is that many households are still living in temporary huts covered with only old tarpaulins.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Chien could not help but worry because for nearly a year, her family had been living in a temporary tent made of bamboo trunks, covered by a tarpaulin. Now the tarpaulin is old and torn, and every time it rains, water leaks, wetting the blankets, mosquito nets, and other belongings.

“Last year’s historic flash flood swept away all of my family’s homes and belongings. Local people and authorities built me ​​a temporary tent to live in. But if I continue to live here during the flood season, it will not be good,” Ms. Chien worried.

Ms. Lo Thi Lien, who lives in a stilt house right next to a high-risk landslide, is also worried: Knowing that her house will not be safe, because it is located in an area with a high risk of landslides, her family registered with the local authorities to move to a new resettlement area. However, the new resettlement area has not been built yet, so the family is very worried, especially as the flood season is approaching.

“In early July, there were heavy rains, large streams of water flowing from the mountain top into the garden; fearing landslides, the whole family had to brave the rain to go to the house next door for safety,” said Ms. Lo Thi Lien.

It is known that while waiting for resettlement, some households have found land to build permanent houses. For example, Mr. Lo Van Son's family in Hoa Son village, after a long time living in temporary tents, invested hundreds of millions of dong to build a solid house to live in.

“We have not seen any new resettlement areas yet, and while the whole family has to live in a temporary, cramped, and deprived shack, when my parents gave us a piece of land in our garden, my wife and I decided to invest more than 300 million VND to build a house. Because the land has a large slope, we had to invest in pouring concrete pillars, stone embankments, etc. in the negative slope area to create a flat surface to build a house. Now we have a solid house to live in, and we no longer have to worry about the rain and wind,” Mr. Lo Van Son shared.

Similarly, in Son Ha village, Mr. Ha Ba Do's house, located right next to the main road connecting Muong Xen town to Tay Son commune, was completely swept away by the historic flood in 2022, burying the house's foundation. After nearly a year, returning to Mr. Do's house, we saw a team of masons building a solid house.

Mr. Ha Ba Do said: We thought we would soon be able to arrange a new resettlement area for our family to move to and build a stable home, but the wait was too long, while the flood season was approaching, so the family decided to build a new house right on the old land. With the support of the community and additional loans, the family's solid house worth about 300 million VND is expected to be completed in early August.

After the flash floods that occurred in early October 2022, people in Hoa Son and Son Ha villages of Ta Ca commune suffered heavy damage to their homes and property. Dozens of households lost their homes and property, many households, although not homeless, were located in areas at high risk of landslides. Therefore, people need to move to new places to stabilize their lives. However, up to now, there is still no new resettlement area, dozens of households still have to live in temporary houses, or stay with relatives in all kinds of deprived conditions.

Mr. Vi Van Truyen - Head of Hoa Son village said: Among the households that lost their homes due to the flash flood in October 2022, there are currently 16 households temporarily living in tents at the old location; 6 households staying at relatives' houses; 10 households staying in temporary houses at other locations; 3 households staying in dormitories at schools and 4 households have found new locations to build permanent houses.

Priority resettlement for households that lost their homes

Immediately after the flash floods occurred in Hoa Son and Son Ha villages of Ta Ca commune and an area of ​​Muong Xen town, authorities at all levels focused on resettlement plans for people, especially Hoa Son village. Accordingly, resettlement sites for people were surveyed by Ky Son district in Cau Tam village, Ta Ca commune and a location behind the district's Center for Vocational Education and Continuing Education.



Mr. Tho Ba Re - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: The approaching rainy and stormy season is a concern for the local government, because dozens of households are living in temporary houses, temporary shelters and areas at high risk of landslides, threatening the lives of hundreds of people.

According to Mr. Tho Ba Re, up to now, the resettlement area for the people has not been arranged because resettlement site No. 1 with an area of ​​8.6 hectares in Cau Tam village, Ta Ca commune is entangled with natural forest recovered after slash-and-burn farming, so it is necessary to ask for the Prime Minister's opinion on land conversion, which has not been implemented yet.

For point 2 with 3.9 hectares, arranged for 56 households (behind the District Vocational Education and Continuing Education Center) without any problems, on July 5, the Provincial People's Committee approved the investment policy, the District People's Committee assigned the Project Management Board to conduct consultation to carry out the next procedures. The district strives to have the resettlement area by the end of 2023, early 2024 to prioritize the households whose houses collapsed and were swept away to move in first.

The rainy season is approaching, authorities at all levels and functional sectors need to quickly complete the next documents and procedures so that resettlement sites can be deployed soon, to ensure the lives as well as the "settlement" of hundreds of households after the floods.