Ly Son, 28 December 2021 – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Red Cross Society of Quang Ngai Province handed over ten solar-powered storm-resilient houses to poor households severely affected by the historic storms in 2020. In attendance at the handover ceremony in person and online were representatives of the Red Cross Society of Quang Ngai Province, the Department of Construction of Quang Ngai Province, the People's Committee of Ly Son District, UNDP, and beneficiary households.

The historic storms at the end of 2020 caused enormous damage to the people of Central Vietnam, including in Quang Ngai province. On Ly Son Island, hundreds of houses were destroyed, directly affecting people's lives, especially poor households, near-poor households, women-headed households, and elderly households. During storm No. 9 in November 2020 alone, the roofs of over 1,800 houses on the island blew off and/or collapsed.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Van Danh, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai’s Provincial Red Cross, said, "to promptly remedy the damage and help the poor people stabilize their lives, UNDP through the Provincial Red Cross supported the construction of ten storm-resilient houses with solar electricity for ten poor families who were seriously affected by the storm on Ly Son Island."

"The storm-resistant housing model is one of the most effective ways to reduce risks to the lives of Ly Son people. These UNDP-funded ten resilient houses constructed on Ly Son Island have a design specifically engineered to withstand the extreme winds that impact this island. The rooftop solar systems installed on the houses can provide lighting for household use during blackouts caused by these disaster events. All the houses have already withstood the impacts of both storm CONSON and the recent typhoon Rai that passed over the island in 2021," said Mr. Patrick Haverman, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Viet Nam. He emphasized that "the special wind- and storm-resistant features of this particular resilient housing model and its solar panel system should be further promoted to other islands in the Central region to enhance the resilience of the most vulnerable households and communities."

According to a recent study on resilient housing needs, conducted by UNDP and the Ministry of Construction, over 110,000 families still live without safe housing across Viet Nam’s 28 coastal provinces, including more than 25,000 families in coastal districts. Over 1,500 are located in five coastal districts of Quang Ngai.

On behalf of local leaders and of the people, Mr. Dang Tan Thanh, Vice Chairman of Ly Son District People's Committee, thanked UNDP in Viet Nam, the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Red Cross Society, the Department of Construction, and related authorities for “supporting and helping poor households in Ly Son district and for providing them with safe houses to welcome the new year."

On behalf of beneficiary households, Ms. Bui Thi Hoang of Dong An Hai village shared her gratitude, saying that "today I am very touched, happy, and excited to live in my new beautiful strong house. Life was not so easy for my family. My husband died early, two of us, my daughter and I depended on each other and moved on. Our financial situation is tough. The house is a temporary shelter place. It was about to collapse when there was a storm, and its roof was blown away. Now my family has received the assistance of the local government, the Red Cross, and the donor to rebuild a new storm-resilient house for us to live in. I no longer have to worry when there is rain or a storm. I am delighted with this new house."

For more information, please kindly contact:
Phan Hương Giang
CCE Media and Communications Analyst, UNDP
Mob: 0948466688     Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org