Successive storms and flooding in 2020 caused severe landslides in some parts of Tra Leng commune, leaving 32 people dead or missing and destroying 79 houses. The hardest-hit places were Tak Pat village and Ong De village, which had 22 people dead or missing.

After the disaster, the survivors were moved to a new resettlement area. By late April 2021 the Bang La resettlement area had 39 new houses occupied mostly by Bh'noong ethnic families.

Each household received 200m2 of land, 50m2 for a house and the rest for raising poultry and pigs and growing vegetables. ‘Bang La’ in the Bh'noong language means ‘flat land where bamboo trees grow’.

The happy smiles of Bang La children (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Le Thi Thu Hang, Secretary of Tra Leng commune’s Party Committee, recalled that the commune surveyed 3 locations to build a resettlement area. Bang La was chosen because its terrain is flat.

“Before deciding on the location and starting construction, we had a meeting with the locals. A house costs 7,400 USD. The 13 families from Ong De village who lost relatives received 1,200 USD. Tak Pat villagers lost their house, but no relatives. People's lives are better now,” said Hang.

In the new residential area the government has built infrastructure for essential services and provided a means of subsistence for the new residents.

In the middle of Bang La is a spacious community house built by Military Region 5. A new kindergarten has been built.

According to Phan Quoc Cuong, Chairman of the communal People’s Committee, Bang La resettlement area itself has a total investment of more than 1.2 million USD.

“The state is spending nearly 2.5 million USD for an embankment around the residential area to protect against landslides. The State and private donors have funded essential facilities, accommodations, a power station, roads, schools, and a medical station. The commune has invested in the embankment and a park. Local farmers have also been given cinnamon, areca nut, and fruit trees, as well as buffaloes, cows, and poultry. They have also received health and education support,” Cuong told VOV.

He added Bang La has sent 7 students to a university or college. One of them, following graduation, is now working at the communal People's Committee. Bang La has a kindergarten which is now applying for recognition as a national level school.

Cuong insisted, “During the last two rainy seasons, there have been no landslides reported in this area.”

Since moving to Bang La, the local people have stabilized their lives. On the hillsides, Tra Leng people grow acacia trees and high-value trees like mangosteen, cinnamon, and durian. They created new terraced rice fields and raise cows, goats, pigs, and chickens to increase their incomes.

Some young villagers do other work in their spare time to raise their income. Huynh Van Hien of the Cor ethnic minority group told VOV that he works freelance in construction and seasonally grow rice or acacia trees.

“In the rainy season, I work for cinnamon farms. In the dry season, I work in construction. Living in the new village is much better. We earn enough to live on,” said Hien.

Ho Van De, a Bh'noong village elder in Trà Leng commune, said he lost eight family members in the 2020 landslide.

But now “Our life has been stabilized. We are no longer worried about poverty,” said De, adding that the State helped them build roads, schools, and an electric power station, produce crops, raise buffaloes, and cows. The local authorities have helped us in many ways.

“Without the government, we’d have no place to live and would be mired in poverty,” De noted.

Bang La has been chosen by Quang Nam province to become a traditional cultural village of the Bh'noong ethnic people, preserving the local culture and developing tourism at the same time. Now that their pain has eased, smiles are back on their faces.