Villagers in Vietnam Rebuilding After Typhoon Yagi Devastated Homes

Nguyen Thi Kim and her village reconnect and rebuild after Typhoon Yagi devastated their community last year.

Transcript

00:00Half a year since her life was turned upside down, Nguyen Thi Kim is back in the place she

00:06once called home. This is all that remains of her village in the mountains of northern Vietnam,

00:12destroyed by floods from the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in decades. Her

00:17family had farmed this area for half a century, and she never thought she would have to leave.

00:22My life was so peaceful. Time just passed by every day. I used to wish it would be like

00:30that forever. No one expected the disaster to be too big for us all. I can't forget.

00:39Super typhoon Yagi swept across Vietnam in September last year,

00:43killing at least 250 people and devastating the country's infrastructure. Nguyen Thi Kim's village

00:49was among the most affected. When the storm had passed, the area was deemed unsafe.

00:55Residents were advised to rebuild elsewhere and offered an alternative site.

01:01Though Kim and her neighbors have re-established their community,

01:05there is still a lot that worries them.

01:09It's really safe now, but I am still very panicky whenever the wind and the rain come.

01:14I am very, very panicky. A fear that experts say is not unfounded.

01:24Predicting absolute safety in geology is actually very difficult,

01:27because the earth is changing slowly, natural geological phenomena are also changing.

01:32The villagers want their lives to return to normal, but climate change continues to pose a challenge.

01:38With more frequent rains across the region and the remaining threat of floods.

01:47We want to follow our traditions, but if it's not safe to do so any longer, we need to change.

01:55This place is still distraught. Nguyen Thi Kim and her neighbors are just several of millions of

02:00people here having to live with the impact of global warming. Wanting to rebuild, but anxious that

02:06without a permanent solution, what lies ahead could again be gone. In a flash.

02:13Jon Su and Miriam Branagh for Taiwan Plus