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A man on the paddy fields abandoned due to heat waves and drought. (Photo: Duong Quang) |
At the paddy field in Quang Thuan Ward, Ba Don Town, the Central province of Quang Binh, a 68-year-old resident said that this year, there is only one winter-spring crop and local farmers could not cultivate rice without rain. The man shared that his family has 3,000 square meters of uninhibited paddy fields where weeds are unable to grow.
Apart from Quang Thuan Ward, communes of Bac Trach, Thanh Trach, Dong Trach, Ly Trach and Nam Trach of Bo Trach District, hundreds of hectares of paddy fields have been uninhibited and chapped. The farmers in Dong Trach Commune were prepared for the drought from the summer season but they still failed to do rice farming since the beginning of the summer autumn crop.
In the mountainous district of Huong Khe, Ha Tinh Province, Sai Gon Giai Phong (SGGP) Newspaper’s reporters recorded that although the locality is located near Ngan Sau River, the ongoing heat wave and drought have triggered massive uninhabited paddy fields on these days.
Looking at the dry grasslands, a 63-year-old resident named Tran Van Dung in Huong Thuy Commune desperately said that the severe drought and intense heat with the temperature from 39 to 40 degrees Celsius have dried up dams, lakes and canals, leaving fields dry and cracked after drought-hit weeks. Even wild weeds could not survive so cows and buffalo were hard to find their food.
Head of the Sub-Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Ha Tinh Province Nguyen Tri Ha informed that during the summer-autumn crop, there are more than 14,000 hectares of uninhabited paddy field areas in the whole province, mostly in districts of Nghi Xuan, Huong Khe, Huong Son, Vu Quang and so on.
In Nghe An Province, the communes of Hung Trung, Hung Yen Nam, Hung Yen Bac and Hung Loi in Hung Nguyen District; Nghi Cong Bac and Nghi Cong Nam of Nghi Loc District have all faced serious lack of water. The whole province of Nghe An currently has over 11,319 hectares of rice under the lack of water.
According to surveys by functional agencies, the water levels at the irrigation dams in the North-Central localities are low, rendering the shortage of water for tree planting and local people’s daily lives.
Head of the Irrigation Sub-Department of Ha Tinh Province Tran Duc Thinh said that there are some dams with water levels reaching only 30 percent of their capacity. Amid the situation, the unit has required professional agencies in the province's districts, towns and cities and farmers to save water while waiting for the upcoming rainy season.
Meanwhile, in Nghe An Province, the water level at the upstream area of Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir is only 2.71 meters above the dead level so the water supply for residents is very difficult. Thousands of households will be at risk of water shortage if the drought prolongs in the upcoming time.
