The lives of hundreds of villagers in central Vietnam are returning to normal in a new place after they were evacuated from the area once struck by a fatal landslide more than one year ago.
A typhoon in November 2017 brought down four houses, devastated crops and triggered a landslide that killed five people in a remote area of Nam Tra My District, part of disaster-prone Quang Nam Province.
The mountainside village there was damaged beyond recognition.
A man walks near a house destroyed by a landslide in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, November 6, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Over 600 affected locals were forced to relocate to Khe Chu Valley, around four kilometers away from the original place.
They started life anew on a shoestring, with financial support from the local government and corporate and private donors.
The residents erected stronger houses, chose pieces of land for rice-farming purposes and have been encouraged to use fields in their original village again, while the authorities have built dirt roads, a school, hospital and electricity grid.
The government is trying to have the roads covered with concrete prior to Vietnam’s largest public holiday – the Lunar New Year fest in February – and make sure the residents have enough food to eat a few months after that.
A woman dries rice at a her house in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
A family cooks a meal after returning from rice paddies in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
A first grader smiles at her classroom in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Schoolchildren study in a classroom in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
A man lays bricks to build a shop in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
The new village in Khe Chu Valley in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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