Quick aid after strong tornado

On June 1st, a strong tornado suddenly pounded a remote village in Lang Chanh district in Thanh Hoa province, toppling many houses, injured dozens of villagers, and swept away their property.

“It was the biggest tornado we’ve met during the last 20 years,” says Le Van Luan, a local community leader. “There were 50 households with all their lifetime-saving properties lost and 12 with their house roofs overturned. Many people were injured because they were not able or didn't have enough time to escape from their houses, of which, there were two elderly people.”

After the tornado, World Vision in Thanh Hoa, together with local authorities, promptly visited the damaged areas and distributed aid for the poorest families who had been severely affected.

World Vision provided them with instant noodles, cooking utensils, blankets, mosquito nets and construction materials. For those whose homes had fallen down, World Vision staff helped them repair or rebuild. While children received new school notebooks that replaced the drenched ones, their parents received sows and breeding chickens to restore their livelihood.

“We really appreciate World Vision’s prompt response right after the damage,” says Quach Van An, People Committee’s president of a tornado-affected commune. “We realised that we should pay more attention to disaster preparedness and prevention in the coming time in order to help our villagers to minimise potential damages.”

Looking at her parents’ henhouse, 3rd grader Ha Thi Lan Huong says, “I’m happy because we have our house roof fixed and my parents have chickens for rearing.”

Vietnamese text and photos: Le Gia Bien, Lanh Chanh ADP