A farmer catches fish in Nhon Hung Commune, Tinh Bien district in the southern province of An Giang. Floods in the Mekong Delta are expected to occur earlier this year. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Floodsin the Mekong Delta are expected to occur earlier this year due to higher thanaverage rainfall, according to the National Centrefor Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Besides the heavier rainfall, thewater levels measured in the Mekong riverhead during the dry season were 0.45 -0.55 metres higher than average, according to thecentre.
By the end of July, water levels atTan Chau and Chau Doc stations are expected to be 2.5 - 3 metres high.
This year’s flood peak is expectedto occur in the first half of October, at levels 2 and 3 (the Tien River in TanChau station, from 4.0 to 4.5m; and the Hau River at Chau Doc station from 3.5– 4.0m).
The 2017 flood peak is expected tobe nearly the same as last year and previous years.
However, there is a risk of floodsrising faster than normal this year, due to heavy rains occurring for many daysin the upper reaches of the Mekong River, the centre said.
Early flooding couldoccur in Tan Hung and Vinh Hung districts in Long An Province and some riversideareas in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces.
Le Thanh Tung, deputyhead of the southern office of the Cultivation Department, said that farmersmight not be able to harvest rice before the floods arrive.
To minimise the damage caused by thefloods, the centre has recommended that localities closely monitor thehydrological situation in the Mekong Basin via media reports.
Meanwhile, the northernand central regions could face forest fires in the dry season this year,according to the centre.
The VietnamAdministration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment has also warned about the risk of forest fires in many localities.-VNA
