Emergencies : August 2007
Climates Changes : The Aftermath of Typhoon in Vietnam
Floods, flash floods, cyclones… Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters caused by climate change. Although CECI assists the poorest Vietnamese people in preparing themselves against such hardships, the organization was put to the test when Xangsane - Elephant - hit the country on October 1, 2006.
In Vietnam, the post-war re-unification train connected North and South over an area of 1,726 kilometres. From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), it ran past rivers, lakes, ponds and the ocean and over many bridges before hugging the mist-shrouded cliffs that towered over turquoise bays. The railway gives a visitor a good idea of Vietnam’s geographic vulnerability: this is a narrow piece of land (only 50 km wide at one point!) nestled between mountains and ocean.
This geographic beauty, so thrilling to tourists, is a constant threat to the Vietnamese people, 70% of whom – of a population of 85 million – live in flood areas vulnerable to rain and tropical storms. Nearly half of the Vietnamese border – 3,200 kilometres of coast – faces the South China Sea. The country is bisected by two powerful rivers, the Mekong and the Red River, which, when they overflow, can have a terrible impact. Some of Vietnam’s mountains stand straight in the path of cyclones and flash floods. The Viet people have lived with the reality of Mother Nature’s phenomena for centuries. Still, the world’s leading scientists agree in their predictions that global warming will only worsen the situation.
Oceans are rising
Vietnam tops the list of the 10 countries most threatened by swelling oceans and the growing violence of cyclones caused by global warming, according to statistics from the International Institute for Environment and Development of London, UK. CECI has been helping central Vietnam’s poorest inhabitants in the regions of Hue and Danang to prepare for natural disasters since the devastating flood of 1999. Aid workers have teamed up with local authorities and the residents of communities to draft contingency plans. This preventive work must halt, however, when
nature strikes. In times of trouble, CECI teams work side by side with the victims. At that point, the development project turns into an emergency aid and rebuilding mission.
A typhoon named Elephant
It happened on October 1, 2006. Typhoon Xangsane (“elephant,” in Lao) swept through central Vietnam. The storm killed 59 people, destroyed 15,000 homes, and tore the roofs off 244,000 more. In one fell swoop, it destroyed crops and washed fishing boats and nets up onto the coast. CECI’s emergency programme worked in three ways: distribution of food; growing of food; rebuilding of homes for the neediest. With the $260,000 raised from the Canadian public and the Canadian government, CECI established its spending needs with the victims. After distributing food, CECI handed out rice and vegetable seeds to help salvage the upcoming harvest.
Seven years for rubber trees to grow!
In the ancient imperial city of Hue, CECI came to the aid of mountain dwellers who’d switched from farming to the more lucrative practice of growing rubber trees. The typhoon, however, had devastated the plantations and the villagers found themselves without food or income. CECI workers helped the local communities prepare the soil in order to be able to grow food. This assistance allowed families to feed themselves while they waited for the new plantations to grow; it takes seven years for the trees to produce sap that is viable on the marketplace.
Sturdier dwellings
Danang, an industrial port city, was most severely hit by the storm. Two low-lying districts were flooded and more than 3,000 homes damaged or razed in each. CECI had already been holding contingency activities there. It helped families rebuild 38 homes and repair 14 others. Specifications and architect’s blueprints were drawn up to build dwellings that would better resist storms and floods. Marie-France Biron, a Uniterra volunteer, was there during the typhoon. As an architect specializing in urban planning, her mandate was to assist one district in implementing new construction codes for buildings better able to withstand natural disasters. In so doing, she was able to lend her specific field of expertise to a tangible cause.
Adapting to unsafe conditions
The world’s poorest people, often relegated to living on at-risk terrain, are the most vulnerable to climate change and its resulting disasters. Reducing the greenhouse gases that cause such climate changes is still urgent. But at the same time, rich countries which produce the most pollution must help developing nations to adapt. CECI wants to contribute to this immense building ground by giving the first potential victims a chance to take part in the decisionmaking process and create evacuation, risks limition and adaptation plans.
