Inadequate storm and flood shelters in Quang Nam

Quang Nam is one of the localities in the Central region that regularly suffers heavy damage from natural disasters. Thousands of households living in dilapidated houses have to evacuate every time there is a storm or flood, causing hardship for both the people and the government.

Based on the above reality, on October 14, 2022, the People's Council of Quang Nam province passed Resolution No. 32, allocating 100 billion VND from the budget to build 10,000 storm and flood shelters/huts (period 2021 - 2025). In addition, districts and towns mobilize more socialized resources and contributions from people. Priority subjects include ethnic minority households, households in difficult circumstances, and households headed by women with a support amount of 10 million VND/hut or room.

Bất cập chòi tránh trú bão lũ ở Quảng Nam - Ảnh 1. — Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong in the house that has just been built

After 2 years of implementation, Quang Nam province has recorded many positive results; Resolution No. 32 is considered a humane and practical policy to help people have a safe and stable life, minimizing damage caused by natural disasters. However, the resolution, when applied in practice, also has many shortcomings. Many poor households are not interested or rather do not dare to receive support money to build huts and watchtowers to avoid storms and floods because they do not have the ability to build according to the design.

The house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuong (73 years old, in Phu Phong village, Dai Tan commune, Dai Loc district) is one of the households that received support to build a flood shelter according to Resolution 32. Two years ago, her old house was damaged by a landslide. After that, the district supported 40 million VND under the temporary house demolition program, so Mrs. Phuong borrowed more to build a new house with a mezzanine to avoid storms and floods. The house was completed with a total cost of nearly 200 million VND, but she still owed more than 100 million VND. "At first, I didn't want to build a house, but because my son worked as a construction worker, I knew some construction workers. They took pity on me and came to help, and the wages were gradually paid off, so the two of us boldly borrowed to build a house. But honestly, we just took care of the flood and now we're stuck with debt," Mrs. Phuong sighed.

To have more money to build a house to avoid floods, Ms. Nguyen Thi Den (58 years old, in Phu Phong village, Dai Tan commune), sold the wooden house she was living in and some other assets for 25 million VND, then borrowed more from the neighbors to build the house. The house cost 130 million VND to build and she and her father still owe 70 million VND. According to Ms. Den, in 2022, the commune officials informed her that they would support 10 million VND to build a house to avoid floods and storms, but she did not dare to do it. It was not until Dai Loc district supported an additional 30 million VND that she dared to borrow more to build a new house.

"Honestly, building a flood shelter with 10 million VND according to Resolution No. 32 is impossible. Because currently, the price of materials and labor has increased, with 10 million VND, it is not certain that I can build the foundation. I am single to take care of my 94-year-old father, and my family is poor. Both father and son are constantly sick, but we still have to rely on each other to get by thanks to the state's support money," Ms. Den said sadly.

Mr. Pham Van Vinh, a civil servant in charge of the labor - war invalids section of the People's Committee of Dai Tan commune, said that the difficulty for the locality when implementing Resolution No. 32 is that many people are not interested, some "complain" that the support money is too little and can only be received within the year. In addition, many lonely elderly people do not want to receive support money because even if they receive it, they will not be able to build a flood shelter. "I think the policy is very good and humane, but when applied in practice, there are many shortcomings. For example, people registered to build a house in 2022, but because of unfavorable weather, it was delayed until 2023 to complete, so the previously approved source had to be returned," Mr. Vinh said.

Mr. Huynh Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of Dai Tan Commune People's Committee, said that the locality had 34 households registered for support under Resolution No. 32, then only 15 households were implemented but only 8 households were settled. The commune is a flood-prone area, so many households wanted to receive financial support to build solid houses to withstand storms and floods. However, when they saw the low support amount, they withdrew because they could not afford to build.

"To implement Resolution No. 32, the locality has continuously mobilized but people are not interested. Because for the poor, spending tens of millions of dong to build a house is impossible. It is worth mentioning that to settle the account, the house must have a mezzanine, ensuring that it follows the design approved by the Department of Construction, so it is also very difficult. The locality cannot chase after quantity and make an incorrect settlement," said Mr. Thanh.

Not only Dai Tan commune, many other communes in Quang Nam province are also facing difficulties and even want to return them. Localities all believe that the support cost of 10 million VND for 1 household is too low and cannot be implemented. Building a separate room is not enough money, let alone repairing the structure to avoid storms and floods. For example, in Dai Lanh commune (Dai Loc district), the locality registered 4 houses according to Resolution 32 but only built 1 house, the remaining 3 houses are making a request to the district to return them.

Similarly, in Thang Binh district, the 2023 budget allocated Resolution No. 32 to 1,699 households, but currently only 235 households have implemented it. Of which, in Binh Dao commune, in 2022 and 2023, 92 households in the commune registered, but most of them later withdrew. Specifically, this year, 55 households registered, but currently only 5 households are on the list, while in reality, only 2 households are implementing it. From there, many localities have proposed to increase the support level.

According to Mr. Dang Van Ky, Vice Chairman of Dai Loc District People's Committee, the whole district has approved 261 households so far, but up to 138 households have not implemented. "Through the survey, poor households have the need and registered but cannot implement because the support source is too low due to the high cost of labor and materials. Many families have been approved for support but it is not enough for the response so they have asked to withdraw, affecting the overall implementation progress. In addition, many localities have not really implemented the criteria to mobilize more support and help from the community...", Mr. Ky said.

Mr. Ky said that in order for the direction and implementation to be smooth and consistent from the province to the district level, it is recommended to transfer the tasks at the district level to the Department of Economy and Infrastructure as the standing agency to preside over and provide professional guidance in the construction of attics, storm and flood shelters, ensuring quality, area scale, and model according to the regulations issued by the Department of Construction.

A leader of the People's Council of Quang Nam province said that the initial goal of Resolution No. 32 was to support people with 10 million VND from the provincial budget, but the locality had to balance the budget and other sources to do it. "We have heard preliminary feedback about the story that many people are not interested because they think the support amount is small. In the near future, we will set up a delegation to monitor the implementation results and see what problems there are, and then report to the Standing Committee of the People's Council for research and resolution," he said.

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