The protracted drought has dried out 500km of canals in Dong Thap province, seeing the average water level up to 40cm lower than usual with districts of Tan Hong, Hong Ngu, and Tam Nong hit hard.

About 12,000 ha of irrigation canals at the Tram Chim National Park, based in Tam Nong district, have reportedly gone dry, placing the park under an extreme blaze alert.

Besides, 8,500ha of indigo forest in Cao Lanh and Thap Muoi districts are too considered susceptible to fire.

The Forest Management Bureau in southernmost Ca Mau province said the drought was taking its toll on 35,000ha of local jungles, exacerbating concerns of fierce fires.

Other provinces in the region like Long An, An Giang, and Kien Giang suffered as well.

Some 61,000ha of forest in Long An, 14,000ha in An Giang, and several districts in Kien Giang were reportedly extremely vulnerable to fire, while the provinces of Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, and Kien Giang have been badly affected by salinity.

Lands in Tra Vinh’s Tieu Can and Cang Long districts saw salinity concentration hitting 6.3 percent.

In Tien Giang, districts of Go Cong Dong, Go Cong Tay, and Cho Gao and Kien Giang’s Chau Thanh, Tan Hiep districts and Rach Gia town too fell prey to rising salinity.

Solutions

The local governments in affected provinces have chalked out responses to the dry season woes as it is set to linger until late April.

They instructed agencies concerned to enhance water transmission capacity by dredging main canals systems and wastewater treatment plants.

Tien Giang dispatched personnel to dredge 37km of canals and reinforce 17 dams and dikes in the province.

Dong Thap has earmarked VND3.5 billion (US$218,000) for the dredging work of five local canals.

Kien Giang, Ben Tre, and Ca Mau are also scrambling to get work of reinforcing embankments underway.

Besides, farmers in affected provinces will be advised to adopt water-saving cultivation methods and arrange appropriate cultivation periods so that they can minimize damage from drought.

Source: Nguoi Lao Dong - Translated by An Dien