A pilot project to build 100 flood-proof residential complexes for the
poor has proved to be effective in the central province of Phu Yen.

Phu Yen is one of the seven provinces in the coastal
central region to have been selected for the pilot model, with complexes
now under construction following a 2012 Government directive.

Each complex includes two floors, with the second floors covering an
area of no less than 10 square metres. This floor is designated for
storing people’s essential property during flooding.

Financial support for the project has come from the Government, local
authorities and residents who have been able to borrow money with low
interest from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.

Vo Thi
Bach Tuyet, 70, from Phu Yen’s An Dinh commune said, “Thanks to
financial aid, I now own a block in the residential complex.”

Another resident, 88 year-old Nguyen Thi Que, said: “Previously our
family had to stay with relatives when floods came. Now we can stay
safely where we are.”

The vice chairman of the provincial
People’s Committee, Tran Quang Nhat, said that the initiative had
received an overwhelmingly positive response from local people.

Phan Van Bay, head of An Dinh’s Dinh Trung village, said that in the
past it was difficult for people to evacuate before floods hit. “That is
no longer a problem,” he proclaimed.

A huge flood in 2009 inundated all 126 houses in the village at depths of up to three metres, he said.

The province has planned to replicate the model in other areas, as
there are more than 17,000 households living in flood-prone areas.-VNA