It has been nearly four years since the great 2010 flood that hit Can Loc district. Located in Ha Tinh province, which is particularly prone to erratic rain, floods, and hot and dry winds, my district is dubbed "a rain bag, a fire pan". I feel so scared still whenever I think about it. "It had been raining heavily for a few days in a row. Then, flood water rose dramatically, and my entire commune was submerged under water. While members in my family supported each other in responding to the flood, Mrs. Lan, my neighbor, didn’t know how to handle it on her own. Mrs. Lan, 92, was living alone in Van Cuu village, Khanh Loc commune at that time. When the flood water nearly reached my house’s porch, I quickly went to see Lan and advised her to move to another house on higher ground. However, she was persisting in staying because she was afraid that no one would look after her house. Mrs. Lan said “Who will take care of my house when I’m away? What if the flood sweeps away all of my possessions?”. “Safety comes first, it is betterto lose money than lose your life. Why don’t you have to worry about the risk of losing stuffs?” I tried my best to convince her. Finally, she agreed to leave her house. She and I went to the office of the communal People’s Committee. As soon as we reached there, we were already soaked to the skin. Lan, at the time, was so cold and she was shivering.
Now, whenever hearing of flood warnings, Mrs. Lan urgesme to help her with preparing her house and household items and taking her to a safe place. She also shows me how to arrange her belongings so that she can easily look for them. Therefore, I have more time for preparing my house and supporting other households before floods. Over the past few years, thanks to the project of Manos Unidas and SRD, people in my hometownhave learned more about disaster preparedness and risk reduction, especially early evacuation to ensure safety of their lives. I even become a member of the disaster response team of my village. My main responsibility is to assist single-living elderly person like Lan. When I sometimes come to see Mrs. Lan, she often says that from now on she felt relieved; and with the support from other people in the village and myself, she felt much more secure and had nothing to be scared of whenever floods or storm strike.
Tran Thi Thanh Toan, Program Manager (Hue-based office), recorded as told by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Loan, a member of disaster response team of Van Cuu village, Khanh Loc commune, Can Loc district.
Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)
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