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VIENTIANE, Nov. 21-- The victims of a dam collapsing in southern Laos are now expecting better lives with the support and help from the government and other sources. The fracturing of saddle dam D, one of five auxiliary dams at the under-construction Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project, some 560 km southeast of Lao capital Vientiane, resulted in massive flooding on July 23. Some 13,000 people were affected, mainly in the Sanamxay District of Attapeu Province and more than 40 people were killed. Around 100 people still remain missing and more than 6,000 have been left homeless. The Hadyao Temporary Residence for Affected Area Residents is located on a former school in downtown Sanamxay. The school's entire playground is now being used as a base for temporary housing. Each household, comprising dozens of square meters, while still crowded, all look neat. As of mid-November, there was full water and electricity supply in the homes, and the victims had made their houses livable, with some putting up hammocks to relax during their stay. Not far from the housing area, there are toilets, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and water purifiers. Educational posters on hygiene and disease prevention are also posted at the settlement. "My husband does not have a formal job now. He used to drive to nearby city Pakse carrying goods to sell here, but the flood washed the truck away leaving him jobless," Phetsamon Chanthoumphone, a 40-year housewife, told Xinhua recently, while watering vegetables in foam boxes outside her temporary home. | 
