High tides over the past few days submerged the entire 252km longcoastline of the southernmost province of Ca Mau, with some areas under0.5m of water.
According to Le Van Su, director ofthe provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, hightides came early this year, and at a higher level than normal, which is aclear sign of climate change and rising sea water level. The tides inthe province usually peak in the period from December to early March thefollowing year.
Some areas 50km deep inside the mainland are also affected by the tides, including Nam Can town in Nam Can district.
More than 2,000 ha of aquaculture farms and 1,000 ha of food crops andorchards have been damaged by the intrusion of salt water.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Dung said thePrime Minister has approved five programmes aimed at adapting to climatechange and coping with rising sea water level in Ca Mau. The programmeswill need a total of 5 trillion VND (238 million USD) to implement.
According to the official, the province will givepriority to the programme on building a sea dyke along its easterncoastline and upgrade the western dyke system at an investment of 1.3trillion VND (61.9 million USD).
The western seadyke system of Ca Mau has been affected by serious landslides caused byheavy rains and strong winds. The 120km-long system stretches throughPhu Tan, U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts in Ca Mau province to KienGiang province. It plays a significant role in transportation, saltwaterintrusion prevention and national security.-VNA