Authorities in the Mekong Delta should continue to implement measuresthat enable people to co-exist along with the annual floods, PrimeMinister Nguyen Tan Dung has said.
In a document he issued about the "living with floods" programme in thedelta, he pointed out that the measures implemented over the past 10years have worked.
Authorities have prioritisedconstruction of flood-proof residential complexes and clusters, sluicesfor water drainage and flood regulation, and dykes and irrigation workswhich also serve transportation.
Besides, they have sought to combine the two or three annual rice crops with intensive aquaculture.
The PM said that Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) and the Long XuyenQuadrangle, where the floods are highest each year, have large areas andpotential for rice farming and aquaculture and so should updateinfrastructure zoning plans to help cope with disasters.
With nearly 10 years' experience in growing the third rice crop,authorities should rezone its production to increase output since "theautumn-winter rice crop has higher yield and quality than thesummer-autumn crop which is plagued more by pests and diseases," hesaid.
The third crop coincides with the flood season each year.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) should providethe region with farming techniques and roll out policies to support thethird crop, the PM said.
People living in areas prone to land erosion caused by flooding should be relocated, he added.
On a related note, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai ordered MARDto complete comprehensive zoning plans for irrigation and agriculture inthe delta to control floods, protect residents, and effectively andsustainably develop agriculture.
Based on them, local authorities had to draft plans for planting and developing infrastructure required for farming, he said.
The zoning plans must be submitted to the Government next year, he added.
Continuing floods in the delta have killed 49 people and inundatednearly 90,000 houses, 22,700ha of rice paddies, and 4,000ha under othercrops, the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Controlin the region said.
This year's record floods have also eroded 1,500km of dykes and inundated 1,340km of rural roads since August.
Authorities and residents have been reinforcing dykes and pumping out water to protect fruits and other crops.
The waters in the upper Mekong River, Dong Thap Muoi, and Long XuyenQuadrangle will remain at the third warning level for the next twoweeks, the Central Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting haswarned./.