Quang Nam province, 16 March 2018 – Quang Nam province, supported by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Republic of Korea, in partnership with the Viet Nam Red Cross Society, held a ground-breaking ceremony for the first 5 of 80 resilient houses in Quang Nam Province.

This is part of a project, entitled “Damrey housing recovery and rehabilitation” financed by the Republic of Korea. The project aims to support building 300 resilient houses in three central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Quang Nam. UNDP implements this project in partnership with the Viet Nam Red Cross, the Provincial Red Cross Chapter of Khanh Hoa and the Provincial Women’s Union of Phu Yen.

The major beneficiaries of the project are the poor and near-poor families whose houses were heavily damaged by the recent Typhoon Damrey. They also will be provided the necessary knowledge and resources to repair and rebuild their houses to ensure that new houses can withstand future typhoons and floods.

Typhoon Damrey or the storm No.12 hit Viet Nam on 4 November 2017 was the strongest one in 2017. It battered some of the poorest communities of the South-Central coastal region. More than 130,000 homes were damaged, of which over 3,500 were destroyed. Dozens of displace families have had to live in temporary and unsafe shelters.

“This project will help the typhoon-hit families to have safer houses after Typhoon Damrey”, said Ms Doan Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of the Department of International Cooperation, VNDMA.

House is not only where the heart is but also the biggest asset of the local people. Building resilient houses is very important to save lives and mitigate the property loss.

“Helping vulnerable affected people to recover is one of mandates of UNDP”, Ms Akiko Fujii, UNDP Deputy Country Director said. She explained that “Housing recovery and rehabilitation will ensure the safety of life for the communities and help them enhance their resilience against future disasters”.

"The Korean government is happy to join this effort to support Vietnamese people affected by Damrey in Central region by contributing 1 million USD to House Repair Project. As a friend and close development partner of Vietnam, Korea will continue to support Viet Nam government in its efforts to overcome challenges posed by climate change. We hope that this project will bring hope and resilience back to the affected people", Korean Embassy commented.

“The support of the Republic of Korea and UNDP is very useful for the local vulnerable affected communities. It can prevent them from falling back to poverty and enhance their resilience” said Ms Nguyen Thu Ha, Director of the Disaster Management Department, Viet Nam Red Cross.

For further information, please contact:

Ms Phan Huong Giang
Media and Communications Analyst, Climate Change & Environment
United Nations Development Programme
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; Mob: 094 846 6688