Typhoons and floods in Vietnam: two experts recommend a flood-proof house model for Thuy Tien

The simple and cheap anti-flood model of two Vietnamese architects is currently being interested by the public as a solution to rebuild the lives of people in Central Vietnam.

That’s Assoc’s ‘flood hut’ model. Dr. Pham Hung Cuong, professor in the Planning Department of Hanoi Construction University and model of the “central house” of architect Ngo Doan Duc, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Architecture. The price fluctuates for each type of anti-flood house from 15 to 30 million VND.

Singer Thuy Tien is known to be actively supporting people in the Central region and looking for ways to build flood-proof houses in many localities, two architects told the BBC that if combined with her, these two models can be the optimal choice for rapid deployment and replication.

The two men told the BBC that during this flood, many people called and expressed interest in the flood-proof model house they designed.

One of the people who built the flood-proof hut and is now staying with her family in the hut, Ms. Le Thi Tuyet, a 70-year-old farmer, told the Vietnamese BBC of Huong Khe, Ha Tinh, that Since the hut was built, the family put all their rice and property there so they could be sure of receiving the flood, but in the past it was “lost.”

“Because we raise chickens and ducks in the garden, we don’t focus on breeding, so when the floods came back, they were only able to catch chickens and ducks, the rice fields and furniture left in the huts saved them,” Tuyet said.

Several other families in Huong Khe and Nghe An also received support from the Ministry of Construction to build flood-proof huts and central houses more than a decade ago.

Speaking to Vietnamese BBC News, Associate Professor Pham Hung Cuong said that the idea of ​​flood-proof huts was formed in 2013 for Huong Khe, Ha Tinh, at that time it was a place where floods continually caused serious damage to people and property. . .

With the idea that the house should be simple, easy to make and cheap, the architect Cuong designed a model of flood-proof huts for the poor. This model won the A award from the Vietnam Association of Architects in 2014.

“The flood came back very quickly, just 3-4 hours after heavy rains fell. People sometimes couldn’t run in time. Most of the families suffered severe property damage, even people. They can’t build houses of two stories, but they live mainly in low and incomplete houses, so when there are floods, they are impoverished because their assets are washed away by the flood.

“So if the flood control house is not cheap, they can give the design to people, they can’t or it is difficult to apply for financing,” Cuong said.

The architecture of the flood proof hut is very simple. It consists of a frame with four columns and a concrete floor. The height of the column is about 3.5m to withstand the largest flood in Huong Khe of about 3.5m, the concrete floor area is about 8-9m2. On this concrete floor, people can rotate steel frames or brick walls, roofing iron. The price for such a hut is VND 15-20 million.

“Depending on people’s economic conditions, they can build huts to store rice, property, poultry, essential items when the floods return. Or they can be renovated into houses to live in. Some families in Huong Khe have converted their huts. of flood control in houses to live in, “said Associate Professor Cuong.

This cabin was built close to the main house, with stairs, so that when the flood came, people just ran to the cabin.

Associate Professor Cuong said that it is necessary for people to have a spirit of preparation. For example, when it rains a lot, you are actively bringing rice paddy, poultry, drinking water, instant noodles, making bamboo rafts to bring cattle, cows and pigs to huts.

Due to its concrete structure and small area, the cabin can withstand Typhoon No. 12 and ensure it remains stable in floods, not soaked with water, decaying like brick houses.

Compared to the houseboat model, Associate Professor Cuong said that each model has its own advantages and disadvantages. With the floating house model, the disadvantage is that you need to float so it is necessary to use very light materials such as corrugated iron walls and metal roofs, so living in this house will be very hot. In addition, they are only flooded once or twice a year, while buoys that are not used throughout the year are easily damaged, they need regular maintenance. When the flood comes, sometimes the ligaments of the buoy fall off, loosen, etc.

“This model is for poor and very poor households. Therefore, sometimes 20 million for them will not have to build. This is why the support of donors looking for ways to help people is sorely needed. zone of storms and floods rebuilding life “.

“The Ministry of Construction previously supported several households in Ha Tinh to build this hut. I also spent money to help a household. But to replicate, it is necessary to have the support of the state and the community.”

As a household that receives money from architect Pham Hung Cuong to build a flood-proof hut, Le Thi Tuyet told the BBC that from the initial simple hut, his family raised the foundation of the hut to 1.5m. If the floods come, bring the buffalo and the cows there. The cabin has also been transformed into a solid house, enough for 6 people in the family to feel safe even when the flood hits.

Also with the criteria of simplicity, ease of installation, inexpensive price, the architect Ngo Doan Duc, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Architecture for BBC News Vietnamese or surveyed in Quang Ngai, Nghe An – where successively He experienced major floods in previous years: ask people how to fight floods, then go back to form a ‘central house’ model. A basic central house costs between 20 and 30 million VND.

The central house is simply the core, the main structure of the house, but it is not yet a complete house. The central house consists of concrete bars, assembled and superimposed as two cubes (two floors).

These concrete bars can be pre-cast, they just need to be transported to the desired location, then assembled on a concrete frame and base. In low-lying areas, often with heavy flooding, a third floor can be installed. Then, from this core, it is possible to build a surrounding brick wall and install a corrugated iron roof, with stairs up and down so that people can transport food, furniture and poultry up to avoid flooding.

There are two basic ways. Type one is the main house built next to the main house, with the warehouse function, where people store things, rice when it rains. Type two is to make a permanent home.

“The important thing is the variability of this model. It is very easy to add the second floor, the third floor and turn it into a solid house as needed.”

“Because it is cheap, it is easy for people to enter. People can do it themselves, or find funding,” architect Ngo Doan Duc told the BBC.

Architect Ngo Doan Duc confided: “I have a lot of admiration and love for singer Thuy Tien because she traveled to the floodplains alone to help people and raise a lot of money.”

“It is known that Thuy Tien is now trying to build flood-proof community houses for the people. My aspiration is to connect and coordinate with Thuy Tien to develop community houses to prevent flooding, anti-core houses. Floods … to help people. If this is possible, it will be very good. Because these models of flood control houses are very cheap, they can be implemented quickly and widely in many homes. “

Adjunct Professor Pham Hung Cuong also agreed that if Thuy Tien chooses the flood-proof hut model, more poor households in the central region will have a safe place to save assets and lives when the floods return.

As for the reasons why models like flood control huts have not been widely implemented in floodplains so far, Associate Professor Pham Hung Cuong said:

“Perhaps the government’s policy to support the poor has ‘many things’ to worry about. There may be more to help with. As long as you are in the flood zone, there will be five and five floods. So the support also it’s unstable, it hasn’t returned yet. ” in an official plan. If it is an official plan, it will be more complete. “

“This year the central region has a big flood again. I think models like this need more attention. Build earlier. It is impossible for poor people to lose all their rice paddy, their already scarce assets, or even while this can be avoided by full, “Cuong said.

Research by a group of scientists from Climate Central, based in New Jersey, USA, shows that 10% of the population of Vietnam is at risk of being severely affected by rising sea levels. In particular, southern Vietnam is in danger of disappearing completely by 2050.

Speaking to the Vietnamese BBC News, Dr Benjamin Strauss is currently CEO and head of research at Climate Central, which just released shocking research, said that in response to disasters, “there are three basic strategies to adapt to rising sea ​​level, including defense, adaptation or withdrawal “.

In addition, the government must consider another solution “to build houses and structures so that they can adapt to flooding without much damage,” according to Dr. Strauss.

And a third approach is to move people in vulnerable areas to higher ground.

“The sea level is rising every hundreds of years. And eventually, coastal cities around the world will almost certainly be forced to move inland and to higher altitudes, because there is a limit.” because of how deeply people want to live there, “said Dr. Strauss.

Climate Central research shows that southern Vietnam and other parts of the world such as Shanghai in China, Mumbai in India, some cities in Egypt, Thailand, etc. they will also be swallowed up by the sea. half a century.