Heavy snowfall began in Sa Pa township inthe northern province of Lao Cai on Wednesday, while ice covered the peak of MauSon Mountain in Lang Son province. The temperature dropped to minus 1.6 degreesCelsius.
According to Lang Son province authorities,the stream of tourists pouring in to witness snow on Mau Son Mountain, a raresight in a tropical country, has caused temporary jams on the road leading tothe mountain and up the mountaintop. The mountain’s tourist managementauthorities have deployed forces to inspect hygiene in food stalls scattered onthe mountains and to ensure tourists’ safety in frosty weather.
On the other hand, chilling weather hascaused damage to agricultural production and animal breeding.
Vietnam Television (VTV) reported that thecold spell has so far killed more than 2,000 cattle. Farmers in the mountainousprovince of Cao Bang were the worst hit, with 670 cattle reportedly dead. Thisis followed by Lao Cai province (440 cattle), Dien Bien province (400 cattle)and Hoa Binh province (250 cattle).
To confront the situation, the LivestockProduction Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MARD) has asked local authorities to immediately deploy measures to protectanimals from the cold and starvation – reinforcing the barns and maintaining alarger feed storage than usual.
MARD also asked the local authorities togive financial assistance to poor households to reinforce stables and buy feedfor animals.
According to Nguyen Hong Son, head ofMARD’s Crop Production Department, there has been no exact calculation of theloss to agricultural production so far.
The department recommended farmers strictlyfollow instructions to care for rice and vegetables in this weather.
Farmers in the Hong (Red) River Delta wereasked to delay rice cultivation to avoid losses.
Similarly, farmers in the northern centralregion were asked to halt rice cultivation for the winter-spring crop and waituntil the weather turned warmer.
The department asked farmers who havealready planted paddy to cover their fields and ensure sufficient water supply.
Provincial and municipal committees fordisaster prevention were asked to provide regular updates on the development ofthe severe cold on mass media to inform all people, especially people in themountainous region, of the situation so that they can act accordingly.
Local authorities and school managers werealso asked to closely follow weather developments to decide whether to allowkindergarten and primary students to stay at home when the temperatures dropbelow 10 degrees Celsius, and secondary high school students when temperaturesfall below 7 degrees Celsius. - VNA