More than 2 months have passed since the flood swept away all the houses and belongings in Nhung Duoi village, Chieng Noi commune, Mai Son district, Son La province. The family of Ms. Da Thi Ly (29 years old) is still worried about food and shelter.
The house, the property they had saved for a long time, was swept away by the flood, and the couple and their daughter had to carry each other to live at their paternal grandparents' house. Ms. Ly shared: "The house was swept away, everything was lost! Now we don't even have money to buy new school bags for the two children, luckily an acquaintance bought them two new sets of clothes for school. We have to live at our paternal grandparents' house, it's very difficult."
'Floods and landslides have leveled the center of Chieng Noi commune, swept away 3 suspension bridges, and killed 6 people. People here are still concerned about settling down and making a living.
"I have lost my house. Now I just hope to be resettled so that I can have a stable life and work hard to raise my children," Ly said sadly.
However, the problem of arranging resettlement areas has not yet been solved when almost the entire Chieng Noi commune is mountainous and at risk of landslides. Finding a flat, safe area for people to build houses is extremely difficult.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Cam Van Truc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Chieng Noi commune - said: "Currently, in the commune, there are about more than 100 households affected by landslides, most severely in Pa Hoc, Hua Pu villages and the commune center. Of which, more than half of them had to urgently evacuate, staying at the cultural house or relatives' houses". However, up to now, the commune has not found a suitable area to resettle the people.
Not only in Chieng Noi, many areas in Son La province also suffered from landslides. Many people still had to stay with relatives, set up temporary shelters in the fields or stay at cultural houses. Every night, they still had trouble sleeping because of the constant worry of settling down and finding a job.
According to statistics, the province needs at least 8 land areas for concentrated resettlement and relocation of households in dangerous areas.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong - Vice Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee - said: "Son La province has a large slope, the risk of landslides is very high, which makes it difficult to arrange resettlement for people. Not only the land but also investment resources are extremely difficult."
For the people here, settling down means having a stable house to protect the whole family from the sun and rain, but still ensuring the customs and traditions of the people. Recently, the leaders of the provincial People's Committee reported the damage and made recommendations and proposals to the Central Government to support resources to overcome the consequences of natural disasters.
The immediate goal is to provide resources for 10 projects to relocate people in risk areas, who have all been relocated to temporary shelters, cultural houses, and relatives' homes. Support investment in 2 flood tunnel projects in Thuan Chau district and Son La city; and build 4 bridges that were swept away by floods in Ngoc Chien commune, Muong La district.
