Stilt houses in southern Ca Mau help cope with climate change CA
MAU — Residents are building stilt houses to adapt to rising sea
levels in southernmost Ca Mau Province's Ngoc Hien District.
Chairman of the district People's Committee Nguyen Truong Giang
said the province was below sea level and its 254-km coastline
and 800km of river and canal lengths were the most threatened by
climate change in the country. "In the last five years, the sea
level has risen higher and higher in this district, and only the
old style houses with stilts were unaffected by the problem,"
Giang said. Stilt houses suited the conditions and also the
tight economics in Ngoc Hien District where the rate of poor
households ranked as one of the highest in the country, Giang
said. A stilt house cost VND20-50 million (US$950-1,900) and
stands on 1-1.5m piles made from mangrove timber. It helps
people avoid the moisture of coastal salt water, especially at
high tide. Tran Van Phung, in Dat Mui Village, said such houses
cost less because ti