Many households in Yen Tinh are still worried about flash floods.

(Baonghean.vn) - Alreadythanks 2 tSince the flood on September 14, 2016 swept through the villages of Yen Tinh commune (Tuong Duong), the lives of the people here are still very difficult. The fear of being swept away by the flood has never subsided for the people living along this small stream.

As the afternoon gradually falls, the last weak rays of sunlight are gradually fading on the hilltop, Pa Ty village is still deserted, because people are still busy in the fields to complete the last harvest of the year. Mr. Lo Ba Duy, Head of Pa Ty village, said that the whole village has 68 households living mainly along Cha Ha stream. Every year during the rainy season, the fear of flash floods often occurs, making people here feel scared.

Located next to a stream, every year during the rainy season, Pa Ty village still suffers a lot of damage.

During the recent flood in mid-September 2016, 32/68 households in the village were flooded, many households had their houses and properties swept away, such as the houses of Mr. Vi Van Dau and Mr. Luong Van Tung... These households are all poor households in the commune, so their lives are extremely difficult.

To stabilize their lives in the long term, many households in Yen Tinh wish to relocate to higher locations, however, due to limited budget resources and difficult living conditions, not everyone is eligible to relocate. In Pa Ty village alone, 7 households wish to relocate this time, however, only 5 households are currently eligible.

The house of Mr. Lu Van Thuyet's family is about to be relocated.

We arrived at the house of Mr. Lu Van Thuyet, 54 years old, in Pa Ty village when it was almost dark. Mr. Thuyet had just returned from a day of harvesting rice in the fields. The ground under his stilt house was still covered in mud and dirt left after the flood. There was nothing valuable left in the house. During the recent flood, his house was flooded more than 2m deep, the water even reached the floor. Luckily, his whole family had moved to a relative's house in the village so they were able to avoid the flood. However, the flood was so strong that it swept away all of the family's belongings.

Mr. Thuyet pointed to the land next to his house and said, this is the location we will move to, however, to move we need about 60 million VND. That is the new land of my family nearby, some families have to move nearly 2km, so the transportation cost will be much higher. In addition to the 20 million VND provided by the Commune People's Committee, my family has to borrow the rest from brothers and relatives.

Despite the difficulties, Mr. Thuyet is still luckier than many other households, because they want to move but do not have a new land and the small amount of state support is not enough to build a house. For example, Mr. Luong Van Them (34 years old) had his house and household items swept away by flood. After the flood, with the support of the people, he and his wife were able to rebuild their house. Mr. Them's wife is often sick, and the family of 5 depends on the rice fields, so life is extremely difficult.

Leaving Pa Ty village, we could not help but be haunted by the layers of dried mud left after the flood. There, dozens of houses still have to struggle to cope with the fierce floods every year.

A house in Pa Ty was devastated after the flood.

When we arrived at Vang Cuom village, it was already dark. We had to walk up a steep hill to reach the makeshift house of Mr. Kha Van Moong and his wife that was swept away by the flood in mid-September. In front of the palm-leaf-roofed house, Mr. Moong's eldest daughter was holding her one-month-old baby sister and playing with her friends. When it was dark, Mr. Moong and Ms. Dan also returned home, behind them were baskets of rice and firewood.

Mr. Moong returned after a day in the field.

Holding her newborn baby in her arms, Ms. Dan said that because the house was located next to a stream, the heavy rain that day lasted for a long time, so the family was afraid of being swept away by the flood so they moved to their cousin's house to stay. Luckily we moved in time, otherwise the whole family would have been swept away by the flood that night. When the flood passed, the house was swept away along with 5 pigs and 10 chickens. The 5 family members had to go to the forest to make a temporary shelter for a whole month. Currently, the cousin's family has built a temporary house at a higher location, but the worry is still there because they do not have the conditions to build a solid house.

Ms. Dan from Vang Cuom village shared with reporters.

To help Yen Tinh residents move to higher ground, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district has decided to support households in the flood-prone areas to move to new locations. Accordingly, each household will be supported with 20 million to move their houses. It is planned that by December 2016, 31 households in Yen Tinh will move to new locations to stabilize their lives. However, there are still many households in Yen Tinh who do not have the conditions to move, and the worry is still there when each rainy and stormy season comes./.

Thai Orchid - Huu Vi