Vietnamplus

On March 31, the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu declared a level 2 emergency situation for drought and saline intrusion, which has plagued the province for months.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Netherlands to continue helping Vietnam cope with climate change, especially the ongoing drought and saline intrusion.in the Mekong Delta.

The Vietnam Red Cross on March 29 gave 1,000 low-income households affected by saline intrusion in Giong Tom district, Ben Tre province containers and tools for storing and filtering water.

Crippling drought and saline intrusion are forecasted to continue damaging the south-central, Central Highlands and southern regions in April due to the devastating El Nino phenomenon.

Despite a larger scale of plantation, winter-spring rice crops grown in the south are estimated to yield just over 11.36 million tonnes of rice, a decrease of 190,000 tonnes compared with last year.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has provided maps of underground fresh water distribution for all thirteen Mekong Delta localities, aiming to facilitate their search for fresh water

Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu affected by severe drought and saline intrusion have received support from the Government, local authority and banks to restart their crop production.

The authorities of Hanoi have decided to grant financial aid worth 19 billion VND to support the Central Highlands, south central and Mekong Delta localities hardest hit by droughts and saltwater.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) on March 18 decided to grant financial support worth 23 billion VND (over 1 million USD) for 16 localities hardest hit by droughts.

Saltwater intrusion and drought in the Mekong Delta region are expected to ease in May, an official from the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting told the Vietnam News Agency.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong ordered taking prompt and drastic actions to fight drought and saline intrusion while visiting the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on March 16.

A total of 11 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Highland regions have announced an emergency state of drought and saline intrusion, reported Nhan dan newspaper.

The Prime Minister on March 12 issued an instruction requesting imperative measures to cope with saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

The Prime Minister has approved an aid package worth 523.7 billion VND for 34 localities to address the consequences of drought and saltwater intrusion during the 2015-2016 Winter-Spring crops.

Mekong Delta farmers are struggling with the worst water shortages and saltwater intrusion in nearly a century.

The Government considers the prevention of drought and saltwater intrusion its urgent task, said deputy head of the Government Office Nguyen Khac Dinh at a regular Cabinet press conference on Feb 29.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suggested Cabinet members raise the national GDP growth rate target from 6.7 percent to 7 percent in 2016.

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa is facing serious water shortages because of low levels in reservoirs.

The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang is in urgent need of about 100 billion VND (4.47 million USD) to cope with severe saltwater intrusion and protect crops during the dry season.

More than 11,000 hectares of winter-spring rice crops in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang have been seriously damaged by intruding saltwater, prompting a natural disaster emergency declaration.