Typhoon Son Tinh 2012-13
Typhoon Son Tinh struck the north-eastern coastal region of Vietnam in October 2012 causing an estimated US$185 million in severe damage to homes, public buildings and agricultural land.
The aftermath of the typhoon posed an ongoing threat to health and livelihoods in seven provinces in the region. Nearly 56,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the affected provinces. Thai Binh province was the worst affected with over 41,000 homes damaged or destroyed.
From November 2012, we worked closely with local partners and Red Cross representatives to provide 155 shelter repair and reconstruction kits, as well as training in disaster risk management and roof repairing skills.
The families have safer, more resilient homes with new roofs. The training will ensure that the families can prepare their homes for future disasters, and prepare the entire community to deal with future disasters.
Following this project, Tien Hai district people’s committee will take over responsibility, with technical support from our local experts to supervise construction to ensure consistent quality and long-term sustainability of the individual targeted households.
Flooding in Southern Vietnam 2011-12
Inhabitants of the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam have been grappling with serious flooding since late September 2011. The disaster caused loss of life and significant damage to homes and property, and posed an ongoing threat to health and livelihoods in seven provinces in the region.
The floods damaged over 100,000 homes, destroyed approximately 1,600 homes and more than 200,000 children were at risk.
Long An, An Giang, and Dong Thap provinces were the worst affected. Habitat for Humanity in Vietnam supported households in Dong Thap, where flood damage was most severe. The estimated affected number of households was over 25,000 (statistics supplied by the Government of Vietnam).
Families were desperate to return to their homes as soon as possible and begin recovery so that children could go back to school and adults could resume their livelihoods.
After surveying more than 400 people, 290 of the most vulnerable households were selected to receive assistance, taking into account Sphere Standards (the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response).
In Dong Thap, we provided the local population with:
- Emergency cleaning kits
- Emergency shelter repair & reconstruction kits
- Technical training assistance
This enabled families to exit the evacuation centres more quickly and resume their regular routines in a shorter timeframe.
290 households received emergency cleaning kits and emergency shelter kits – these families were able to clean their homes through the use of clean up kits (including a plastic bucket and a plastic water tank) and make rapid repairs to their homes using materials and tools provided in the shelter kits.
Each kit included
- Galvanized iron sheets
- Screws
- Hammer
- Pliers
- Hand-saw and nails
These households also received training from our Construction Supervisors on how to use their kits for longer term solutions to build resiliency to future disasters. These households now have the knowledge to protect and repair their homes, thus reducing their vulnerability to future disasters.