After 9 months of implementation, Project “Assistance for Damrey typhoon and flood affected communities in the central region of Vietnam” was officially closed on 29 September 2018 in Thua Thien Hue province. Participants of the closing workshop included representatives of the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, CARE staff and provincial and communal Red Cross and authorities.
In the beginning of November 2017, just days before Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum took place in Vietnam, typhoon No. 12 (typhoon Damrey) landed in central Vietnam. During its 16 hours or so in Vietnam, it blew away the roofs of thousands of houses and felled trees and electricity poles across the southern coastline. Flooding in 15 provinces across central Vietnam followed. According to the UN, over 4.3 million people were affected and the total economic losses were estimated at 1 million US dollars.
To support Vietnamese people in affected areas, the Australian Government decided to provide 400,000 AUD for CARE to carry out assistance in the four communes in Dai Loc district (Quang Nam) and Quang Dien district (Thua Thien Hue).
With the cooperation of the provincial and communal Red Cross, CARE supported nearly 10,000 people, ensuring better accommodation, water and sanitation. Among those, 78% of the households received cash grants; over 80% of households receiving assistance had people older than 70 years old.
In the closing workshop, Ms. Kellie Raab, First Secretary of the Australian Embassy, expressed her sincere thanks to CARE and related agencies including the Red Cross for their timely and close coordination to help people in these areas.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, Chairman of Thua Thien Hue Red Cross, also thanked the Australian Government and CARE for helping people in Quang An and Quang Thanh communes to meet their immediate needs and recover their income activities.
Prior to the closing workshop, representatives of the Australian Embassy in Vietnam visited a number of families who received support from the project.