Floodwater levels in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are high and will continue to rise this month, especially in upstream areas, according to the hydraulic works management and construction department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Water levels in the Mekong River have increased rapidly and are projected to rise further over the next five days, especially from Chiang Khan to Khong Chiam in Thailand and from Vientiane to Savannakhet in Laos, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
Talim, the first storm to hit Vietnam this year, made landfall along Vietnam's border with China and weakened into a tropical depression at about 4pm on July 18, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).
The level of water in Thailand’s major reservoirs is critically low, with only 19% usable for consumption, agriculture and protection of the ecological system, according to the National Water and Climate Data Centre.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) recently said that the annual reversal in the flow of the Tonle Sap River remained delayed, causing “very low” water levels on the Tonle Sap Lake, according to Cambodia’s news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP).
British divers who were involved in a dramatic rescue mission in Thailand last year to save a young football team who became trapped in a cave are preparing to set foot in the world’s biggest cave Son Doong in the central province of Quang Binh.
The people’s committees of provinces and cities across the country have been ordered to outline plans to fight drought and saline intrusion in the context of low water levels in many reservoirs, making it hard to provide sufficient water for agriculture production during the dry season 2018-2019.
With the severe drought showing no signs of easing, economic losses to the southernmost province of Ca Mau have been estimated at tens of billions of Vietnam dong.
