"Our houses suffered cracks in their walls and foundations after the recent Storm Sonca," Phung said. "And they could not stand after being hit by the Storm Nesat on the evening of October 19.
Phung said that they had been using these seaside houses as restaurants for five years. There were many other restaurants and shops which used to line over a kilometre of this beach, but all the others had been damaged by erosion.
"Last year we spent over VND 150 million to repair the foundations of our houses, but they could not stand anymore. After two rounds of repairs in three years, we have no other choice than leaving now."
Another man, Le Van Biet, 62, said that he built his house over 200 metres from the beach but over the years the water was getting nearer and nearer.
"We’re sad to see us losing land every year," Biet said. "And after the Storm Nesat, our house collapsed and we've had to relocate to an area far away from the beach to avoid erosion."
Chairman of Cam An Ward People's Committee, Dinh Dung, said that they had evacuated local people before Storm Nesat arrived and asked the local authorities to take urgent measures to curb erosion.
"The sea has encroached nearly 200 metres inland over the past decade," Dung said. "Erosion has expanded along two kilometres from Thinh My to An Bang beaches."
Earlier, Quang Nam provincial authorities built two kilometres of dikes along Cua Dai Beach to prevent erosion.
