While great salt drought is desiccating the city and provinces in the Mekong Delta region, Can Tho City is being battered by high tides which cause serious flooding.
According to the Southern Meteorological and Hydrological Station, even though it is the dry season, water levels at stations on the Tien and Hau Rivers all recorded high from the two-stage warning level to the third-stage warning level. Due to the influence of high tide, saline intrusion continues to increase. Sea water with salinity 4‰ encroaches into the inland 60-90km, from the river mouth.
To prevent saltwater from penetrating deeply into canals, rivers, paddy fields and orchards, local authorities promptly closed 1,700 culverts and dams to protect local crops, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre Province Doan Van Danh said on the same day.
On the afternoon of March 13, the National Center for Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting stated that the high tide in the eastern coastal region of the South will end at the end of March 14 because the high tide is gradually ebbing with the highest level on March 13 at 4.05m compared to 4.2m on March 11 and March 12.
However, low-lying areas outside coastal dikes from the southern provinces from Vung Tau to Ca Mau were still flooded from 13:00 to 16:00 on March 14, and then this high tide temporarily ended.
