Almost
a year to the day after Typhoon Damrey hit coastal areas of
Vietnam, another major storm, Xangsane, slammed into the country’s
central provinces, killing 69 people and causing considerable
damage to infrastructure.
A high level of disaster preparedness and widespread, rapid
evacuations helped save many lives when Xangsane made landfall
on 1 October, but typhoons don’t differentiate between
rich and poor and the storm hit rural residents especially hard.
Around half of Vietnam’s 82 million people live under
the national poverty line, according to the United Nations,
and poverty remains widespread in the countryside.
For several days now, Mr Ho Nhu Trung has seen nothing but rubble.
But as he bends forward and reaches to pick up another piece
of brick, he also glances at his pregnant wife, working beside
him, and sees hope for the future.
The pair is trying to clear away the remains of what once was
their home. “The wind came from over there,” Ho
Nhu Trung says, pointing toward the open plain.
”It was a strong, whirling wind that hit our house so
badly, we had to take shelter in the only place left standing
– the toilet.”
In a matter of just a few minutes, their house had collapsed,
and despite efforts to use sandbags to keep out the water, several
other neighbourhood buildings were also destroyed by the violent
winds.
“We have to try to rebuild our house again,” Ho
Nhu Trung says while comforting his aging mother, who is fighting
back tears. “This is all we’ve got.”
His family and up to 500 others just like them, who lack the
means to rebuild typhoon-resistant houses, are expected to benefit
from the International Federation’s emergency appeal,
which seeks 1.7 million Swiss francs ($1.34 million USD) to
support the Vietnam National Red Cross in helping 61,000 survivors
of the typhoon on the road to recovery over the next year.
Other residents have received emergency shelter materials, including
tarpaulins, to help them get by until house designs are drawn
up and construction items arrive.
In the hamlet Van Duong, the early morning hours echo with the
sound of hammering. Local staff and volunteers from the Red
Cross are busy repairing Mrs Truong Thi Chuyen’s roof.
For now, a tarpaulin protects her from the rain and wind.
“I’m so grateful to the Red Cross for giving me
a hand,” says the 75-year-old widow, as she energetically
wipes the dusty table in her combined living room and sleeping
area, making space for two cups of tea. On the floor by the
bed stands a picture of her late husband.
“That is the only company I’ve got,” she says,
gazing at the photo. “I was so terrified when I came back
to the house after being evacuated and saw the damage. At my
age, how am I to repair anything like a house?”
Strong winds, like the ones that ripped the roof off Truong
Thi Chuyen’s house, weren’t the only consequence
of Xangsane’s rampage. It also brought heavy rains and
floods, which killed as many as 38 people.
The Red Cross truck makes its way through the district of Dai
Loc in central Vietnam, where the mountains gently fall away
into the majestic River Coh. It’s easy to get lost in
the beauty of the landscape but the locals know that this beautiful
river can be both treacherous and ugly at times.
“We normally see floods every year, but not as high as
during this recent typhoon,” says Mrs Tran Thi Linh, Vice
President of the local Red Cross, as she points to the mud and
water marks on the wall. “Unfortunately, the one death
we had here was through drowning.”
The community building, which houses the Red Cross branch, was
also used as an evacuation point for people threatened by the
swollen river.
“One day before the typhoon, we held a meeting with the
local authorities, and then assisted in making radio announcements
to warn people to seek safer ground,” Tran Thi Linh explains.
“Messengers were then dispatched on motorbikes from the
commune Dai Hung, to warn people in more remote areas.”
As trucks back up to the building to unload relief supplies,
55-year-old Bui Thi Hue, a mother of two handicapped children,
waits patiently outside. She is one of 8,000 people affected
by the typhoon in this area, and one of many whose house was
damaged.
Today, the local Red Cross branch will provide her with a 40-litre
plastic water storage container, two blankets, a mosquito net,
and some cooking utensils.
As the people affected by typhoon Xangsane slowly take their
first, fragile steps toward rebuilding their lives in one of
the most typhoon-lashed nations in Asia, the Red Cross is also
working to prevent future disasters from taking such a heavy
toll. Risk reduction measures include planting and protecting
mangrove forests, which act as buffers against the sea, reducing
potentially devastating waves.
These types of activities are seen as especially important given
the increasing number of typhoons each year, climate change
and the rising level of the sea. The International Federation
remains firmly committed to reducing the number of deaths, injuries
and impact from disasters as part of the Global Agenda, which
focuses on health, disasters and the promotion of humanitarian
values.
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Today,
the local Red Cross branch will provide her with a 40-litre
plastic water storage container, two blankets, a mosquito
net, and some cooking utensils. (p14794)
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As
the people affected by typhoon Xangsane slowly take their
first, fragile steps toward rebuilding their lives in
one of the most typhoon-lashed nations in Asia, the Red
Cross is also working to prevent future disasters from
taking such a heavy toll. (p14792)
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“One
day before the typhoon, we held a meeting with the local
authorities, and then assisted in making radio announcements
to warn people to seek safer ground,” Tran Thi Linh
explains. (p14798)
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Almost
a year to the day after Typhoon Damrey hit coastal areas
of Vietnam, another major storm, Xangsane, slammed into
the country’s central provinces, killing 69 people
and causing considerable damage to infrastructure. (p14793)
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News
