Flooding thwarted by dams, Mekong Delta flood-resistant houses stand unused for decades

Around 100 flood-resistant houses built in the Mekong Delta have not been used for two decades as upstream dams have disrupted the eagerly awaited flooding season.

One afternoon in November, Nguyen Thi Diem, 32, and her husband took advantage of the sunny weather to fix the roof of a half-finished house in Ca No, a commune in Long An Province.

They used a piece of canvas to cover a leak on the roof of the house for which the basic framework has been completed.

Diem and her husband are from Ca Mau Province, the southernmost locality in the country. They came to Long An several years ago and currently earn a living by peeling the barks of trees for wood processing facilities. The homeless couple have taken shelter in an abandoned house that belongs to a flood-proof housing project. 

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Hoang Nam