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Each household that lost their house in Typhoon Yagi in Trạm Tấu District received VNĐ100 million (US$3,900) in support from the district authorities and other sponsors. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Khánh
The severe consequences of Typhoon Yagi caused thousands of homes in the mountainous northern province of Yên Bái to be swept away, buried or remain at high risk of further landslides.
Currently, many families are in dire need of housing, so construction, placement and resettlement in new homes is becoming an urgent task for the Party Committee and authorities at all levels in the province to stabilise people’s lives.
New housing
Statistics on housing damage caused by Typhoon Yagi in Yên Bái show that the whole province saw more than 27,300 homes damaged, of which 326 completely collapsed and 973 were severely damaged.
After nearly two months, many families have repaired homes that were slightly damaged and were able to return to normal life. Meanwhile, thousands of others could not return home due to their houses' locations in areas at high risk of landslides. They are now hoping to have a new place to live that is safer and more convenient.
Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Sang said that thus far, the province had arranged relocation for people to avoid the risk of landslides and flooding.
The province hoped that by the end of this year, those in need would have new accommodation.
Following inspections and reviews in 14 communes of Lục Yên District, authorities found that nearly 1,400 households were affected by and suffered damage in the typhoon; of these, 76 houses had completely collapsed, while more than 100 households were located in high-risk areas that are not safe to live in.
The district has a plan to arrange land funds and build resettlement areas to ensure that nearly 200 households can move to new homes.
Located in a flood-prone area, Văn Yên District had to evacuate over 2,500 households with over 7,100 people to safe shelters.
After the typhoon, 109 houses either completely collapsed or suffered severe damage, 268 houses lost their roofs or were partially damaged, and 1,833 others were flooded for a long time.
More than 300 households need new housing immediately. Meanwhile, in the long term, the locality will need to arrange new housing for nearly 2,000 households.
Yên Bái City suffered the most severe housing damage of any locality after Typhoon Yagi.
The storm affected tens of thousands of households in the city, including thousands of homes that were damaged by landslides with over one million cubic metres of soil and rock and had to be relocated to ensure safety.
The landslides were concentrated in Âu Lâu and Văn Phú communes and Nguyễn Thái Học, Yên Ninh, Minh Tân, Nam Cường and Đồng Tâm wards.
According to Deputy Chairman of Yên Bái City People's Committee Phùng Tiến Thanh, the city has more than 1,400 households with 4,830 people who have to be relocated.
Resettlement areas
An urgent task for localities in Yên Bái Province is creating safe accommodation to restore the quality of life for residents and production for the economy after the typhoon. Localities are currently focusing on the arrangement of temporary accommodation for households that have lost their homes.
At the same time, they are reviewing and selecting safe and convenient locations to design and build long-term resettlement areas for those in need.
Deputy Chairman of Yên Bái Provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Thế Phước said that ensuring the people’s safety was the top priority, with a focus on land allocation and provision of housing for people as quickly as possible.
Authorities are also gradually working to complete infrastructure, electricity and water for the resettlement areas.
These areas are carefully selected by the province for construction at a safe distance from mountainous locations with a high risk of landslides, ensuring plenty of agricultural land for new residents.
Authorities are also taking into account residents' need for both shelter from natural disasters as well as a place for cultural activities when building infrastructure.
Since the beginning of last month, Lục Yên District has quickly started to build a resettlement area for 11 households in Át Thượng Village, Minh Xuân Commune.
Nguyễn Ngọc Sơn, head of the district's Division of Natural Resources and Environment, said that in the short term, the district would quickly build 31 houses at the old location, relocate 17 houses in the residential area, and propose to change agricultural land to residential land for seven more houses.
In the long term, Lục Yên District plans to build resettlement areas, specifically an area of over 13,000sq.m for 31 households in Làng Mường Village, Tô Mẫu Commune and another area of over 5,000sq.m for 19 households in Khe Pằn Village, Khánh Hoà Commune.
Văn Chấn District has planned nine resettlement areas, of which two will be completed this year. The remaining seven will be constructed by 2030 to relocate all households in areas at high risk of landslides.
Mai Mộng Tuân, Secretary of the Văn Chấn District Party Committee, said that although the work was very urgent, each resettlement area was planned in detail, and would include all necessary infrastructure.