Illustrative photo (Source: tinmoitruong.vn) Tra Vinh (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has recently declared a natural disaster situation at level-1 risk in the locality because of serious salinity intrusion.
Due to the effects of El Nino, the water level from the upper Mekong River flowing to local rivers is declining quickly and seawater from the East Sea has encroached about 50-60 kilometres into the mainland.
Currently, the water level in canal systems has dropped to 0.25-0.6 metres from the normal level of 0.5-0.8 metres, with salinity of up to 1.5-2 miligrammes per litre.
So far, about 11,015 hectares of winter-spring rice crops have been damaged, affecting more than 13,000 farmers.
According to the Southern Institute of Water Resources, it is likely there will be no fresh water in Tra Vinh’s dyke system until the end of April.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is working with relevant bodies to implement measures on mitigating the consequences and assisting drought-hit areas to overcome the disaster.-VNA
