Border troops help people move their stuff after 20m of the Nha Mat sea dyke was breached in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu (Photo: VNA) In Bac Lieu city, huge waves andpowerful winds at speeds of level 8-9 damaged about 20m of the dyke along NhaMat Beach near Nha Mat Border Station, flooding many houses near it.
Pham Thi Lien, 63, a seafoodseller at the beach, said: “At around 2am, while I and my son were sleeping,water rushed in. Many big waves buffeted our house. All the furniture in myhouse and motorbike was damaged. Hundreds of beers and other drinks, and tensof kilogrammes of fresh seafood were swept away.”
Local authorities quickly movedall the affected people to safe places. Others living in the vicinity were puton notice about moving in case of need.
In Ganh Hao town huge wavesdamaged 20m of dyke at section G1, where it connects with the Ganh Hao Riverdyke.
The waves swept away a six-tonnecement block, damaged a part of Rach Vuot Bridge and caused many cracks in thesea dyke.
Seawater submerged streets andhouses in the town as the tide rose.
The chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee, Duong Thanh Trung, ordered local authorities and border guards totake immediate measures to safeguard life and property.
Agricultural officials shouldclosely monitor changes in tides along Ganh Hao and Nha Mat beaches to takeproactive protective measures during periods of peak tides every month, hesaid.
Specific plans based on experts’advice would be drawn up to protect the areas from the sea, he said.
This has been the worst breach ofthe three times it has occurred since last year at the Ganh Hao dyke, which is11 years old.
Last year large parts of the G1section of the Ganh Hao dyke were damaged and have not been rebuilt yet.
Bac Lieu is one of provinces inthe Mekong Delta affected by climate change.
The two sea dykes have animportant role in protecting thousands of households and tens of thousands ofhectares of coastal lands.-VNA
VNA
