THANH HÓA — Between 2018 and 2022, 782 poor coastal families in central Thanh Hóa Province will receive a fund of more than VNĐ4 billion (US$177,700) from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to build reinforced houses, ensuring their safety during floods.

The fund will be allotted soon to help build or upgrade more flood-resistant houses in flood-prone areas.

In the first stage, Thanh Hóa will build some 200-340 new storm- and flood-resistant houses. The design is improved to better protect vulnerable households from the increasing frequency and intensity of flooding and super storms resulting from climate change. Many houses started construction this month.

BáchThị Dung, a resident of a flood-prone area, has been given VNĐ52.5 million ($2,300) in aid by the GCF and under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 48 to build a new house.

Dung said the floods in October 2017 severely damaged her property. Along with the money received, she has borrowed money from other sources to build a new flood-proof house, which is expected to be complete next month.

Lê CôngCường, head of the Project Management Board of Thanh Hóa, underlined the importance of aiding vulnerable coastal communities. According to GCF, approximately 60,000 houses are destroyed or severely damaged by floods and storms in coastal areas of Việt Nam every year. Poor families are more vulnerable to disasters as they are more likely to live in sub-standard housing.

Currently, the management board is actively co-operating with the local authorities to find and relocate vulnerable families to safer places and help them improve their living standards as well as to contribute to poverty reduction.

The GCF’s project, “Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change-related impacts in Việt Nam,” will help build 4,000 houses along five coastal localities from 2017 to 2022, including Thanh Hóa, with a total fund of some $29.5 million. — VNS