An irrigation facility in Hanoi. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has instructed irrigation companies and the People’s Committees of districts and towns to implement measures to cope with prolonged drought caused by El Nino.
Irrigation companies were asked to implement drought-prevention plans for each area such as dredging canals; repairing and maintaining electric equipment; getting equipment ready to establish field bumping stations; and holding water in rivers, lakes, pools and lowland areas.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, El Nino is likely to continue into 2016 and become one of the longest the region has seen in the past 60 years, influencing water supplies as far in the future as the Winter-Spring crop in 2015-2016.
Under the influence of El Nino, since the beginning of this year, Hanoi has seen a considerably reduced amount of rain from January to October 31, at 1,377.9mm – 177.5mm lower than the average over many years and 212.9mm less than 2014.
Hanoi has 95 reservoirs with a combined volume of 200 million cu.m, but at the end of October, reservoirs were only at 60 percent of their designed capacity.-VNA
