Having lost their homes and fields, people in the flood-hit Muong Pon area are struggling with many difficulties. Their makeshift, cramped lives make them even more eager to soon have a solid roof to stabilize their lives.
According to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, in Tin Toc village, Muong Pon commune, the atmosphere is gloomy as 5 households are still living temporarily at the village cultural house.
Dozens of people live together in a small area with limited access to water and toilets. Each household is separated by a thin sheet of corrugated iron. How they walk, talk, and cook must be extremely limited to avoid affecting others.
Ms. Lo Thi Mang - one of the households heavily affected - shared: "My family of 7 is having to squeeze into a small space at the cultural house. Every night, worrying about the future keeps me awake."
Ms. Lo Thi Tam (Linh village, Muong Pon commune) said: “After the flood, my family’s stilt house only had a frame left. We had to dismantle it because it was no longer safe. Currently, the whole family of 9 people is living in a temporary house, it leaks when it rains, it is hot when it is sunny, especially the 90-year-old woman who is often sick, we are very worried.”
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Cha A Ta - Vice Chairman of Muong Pon Commune People's Committee - said that after nearly 2 months of the historic flash flood, people's lives have basically stabilized again, however, many households are still struggling with housing and have not returned to normal life.
According to the Vice Chairman of Muong Pon Commune People's Committee, the biggest difficulty at present is the arrangement of new residential land for households. Although there is a plan for the arrangement, the land belonging to the production forest is still stuck. Therefore, it is still necessary to wait for approval from competent authorities according to the provisions of law.
The family of Mr. Lu Van Yeu in Linh village - one of the most severely damaged households - is gradually reorganizing their lives. His family's 5-room stilt house was completely swept away, leaving behind irreparable losses.
However, with the support of the government and the community, Mr. Yeu was able to start construction of a 4.5x7.5m level 4 house on the family’s available land, about 500m from the old house. The house is expected to be completed next October.
It is known that Dien Bien district has proposed a plan to arrange and stabilize the population in the disaster area in Muong Pon commune, including 4 locations: Huoi Ke residential cluster, Linh village, Tin Toc village and Muong Pon 1+2 for 102 households. Of which, 36 households will be stabilized on site and 66 households will be moved to new places.
Previously, as Lao Dong Newspaper reported, the heavy rain and flash flood occurred on the night of July 24 and early morning of July 25 in Muong Pon commune (Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province) causing 7 people to die and go missing.
The flash flood also swept away dozens of houses, many collapsed and about 100 others were damaged. In particular, about 50m of road was completely eroded to a depth of about 4-5m, causing National Highway 12 to be paralyzed.
