The biggest fresh lake in Hoai Nhon district – My Binh Lake – had its water level reached the dead level. This means over 5,000 households living in Tam Quan Bac Area in Hoai Nhon district is facing risk of water shortage. (Photo: VNA) Binh Dinh (VNA) - The south central province of Binh Dinh is experiencing its most serious drought in the last 15 years, with 4,000 households and 3,400ha of crops lacking water.
According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, more than 3,400ha of crops face water shortages and about 200ha of summer-autumn rice has died of the drought.
Quy Nhon city and the districts of Phu My, Hoai Nhon, Hoai An, Tay Son and Tuy Phuoc have been hit the hardest by drought as the affected cultivation areas ranged from 163ha to nearly 500ha.
Vo Duy Tin, deputy head of Hoai An district’s Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that almost all reservoirs in the district were dried up.
“The district has spent nearly 3 billion VND (129,000 USD) to take the little available water from small ponds and streams to cultivation areas,” he said, adding that all 66 pumping stations in the district operated all day to provide water for agriculture.
In Hoai An district, drought has lasted for more than a month, killing 200ha of rice, posing a risk of water shortages for 860ha of crops and leaving 160ha of cultivation land unused.
Le Trung Cang, Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Irrigation Works Management Ltd Company, said rivers and major dams in the north of Binh Dinh province were dry and unable to provide water for farmers.
The company had used 13 mobile pumping machines to take water from ponds and streams for crops in Hoai Nhon district.
The province’s agricultural department also reported that about 4,000 households in the province did not have enough water for daily use, most of them in Phu My, Tuy Phuoc and Tay Son districts.
Le Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the My Chanh Commune People’s Committee in Phu My district, said that some 2,100 households in the commune had suffered water shortages for the last few months.
Seventy-year-old La Van Hiep in My Chau commune in Phu My district said this was the first time he saw the Tra O Lagoon dry up.
My Binh Lake – the largest fresh lake in Hoai Nhon district - also had its water reached dead levels. This means more than 5,000 households living in Tam Quan Bac Area in Hoai Nhon district are at risk of water shortage.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Chau said the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was reviewing the damage caused by the drought.
He said police and army soldiers would carry clean water to people living in affected areas so they wouldn't have to buy water of unclear origin and risk catching diseases.-VNA
VNA
