Sheep in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan get their feed from a dry field. Drought has caused some 900 animals in the province to become exhausted since the beginning of this year due to a lack of food.(Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Lower water levelsin reservoirs and barren farmland can be easily seen in many parts of thesouth-central and Central Highlands region even though it is the rainy season.
The National Steering Committee on Natural DisasterPrevention and Control last month warned that the El Nino phenomenon isexpected to appear from November to the early months of 2019, with thepotential to cause severe drought.
The region’s rainfall between November 2018 and April 2019is forecast to fall by 20-50 percent against the average of previous years,according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.
It has caused lower water levels at reservoirs, rivers andsprings in many localities in the regions of between 10-60 percent incomparison with the average of many years. Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provincesare likely to face a water shortage of up to 70 percent.
Central Thua Thien-Hue and Ninh Thuan provinces will facedrought in the first crop of 2019.
The Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search andRescue Steering Board of Thua Thien-Hue province reported that the province has56 irrigation reservoirs and six hydropower reservoirs that were put intooperation but most of the small- and medium-sized reservoirs have dried up.
Big reservoirs in the province also face the same situation.The water level of Ta Trach reservoir, for example, reached 24m last month,only one meter higher than the dead level and 2.5m lower than the water levelof 2017.
The water level was blamed on the lower rainfall, whichreached only 50 percent of the average of many years, according to the steeringboard. It said this is considered abnormal as the rainy season lasted formonths and is going to end soon.
People in Ninh Thuan province are also struggling with therecord drought when the total amount of water of all reservoirs in the localityreached only 82.2 million cu.m, while the total designed capacity is nearly 195million cu.m. As many as 17 reservoirs dried up or started to reach the deadlevel.
In Quang Tri province, the rainfall also fell dramatically,equivalent to 53 percent of the average of previous years. The water level inmany reservoirs reached only 26-30 percent of the designed capacity.
A recent survey in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Trị provinces bythe Directorate of Water Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) shows that the provinces face high risks of drought andsaltwater intrusion, seriously affecting the production activities and livingconditions of local people.
An estimated total of nearly 8,500ha and 2,500ha of farmlandin Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, respectively, cannot be cultivateddue to water shortage in 2019.
Head of the Thua Thien-Hue Department of Agriculture andRural Development’s Plant Protection Sub-department, Cai Van Tham, said thatlocal farmers would have to face a tough crop when an estimated of 2,000-2,500haof farmland are forecast to suffer from water shortages for irrigation or theyhad to change production.
Head of the Directorate of Water Resources’ Department ofIrrigation Work Management, Nguyen Hong Khanh, said that localities needed tobalance water resources as well as have production plans for upcoming crops todeal with drought.
In a recent document guiding localities to prepare to copewith the 2018-2019 drought and saltwater intrusion, Minister of Agriculture andRural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong asked localities to adjust agriculturalproduction structure flexibly to adapt to the drought.
They were required to watch closely hydro-meteorologicalforecast to have proper prevention and control measures, store water atreservoirs reasonably to ensure enough water for agricultural production anddaily activities of farmers while developing solutions to ensure safety forreservoirs and dams.
It was also necessary to have plans to save water, dredgecanals, install pumping stations and make use of all available water sources,he noted.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has instructed the Electricityof Vietnam Group to build plans to operate hydropower plants appropriately toensure enough water for agricultural production, particularly those operatingin the south-central and Central Highlands region.-VNS/VNA
The National Steering Committee on Natural DisasterPrevention and Control last month warned that the El Nino phenomenon isexpected to appear from November to the early months of 2019, with thepotential to cause severe drought.
The region’s rainfall between November 2018 and April 2019is forecast to fall by 20-50 percent against the average of previous years,according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.
It has caused lower water levels at reservoirs, rivers andsprings in many localities in the regions of between 10-60 percent incomparison with the average of many years. Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provincesare likely to face a water shortage of up to 70 percent.
Central Thua Thien-Hue and Ninh Thuan provinces will facedrought in the first crop of 2019.
The Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search andRescue Steering Board of Thua Thien-Hue province reported that the province has56 irrigation reservoirs and six hydropower reservoirs that were put intooperation but most of the small- and medium-sized reservoirs have dried up.
Big reservoirs in the province also face the same situation.The water level of Ta Trach reservoir, for example, reached 24m last month,only one meter higher than the dead level and 2.5m lower than the water levelof 2017.
The water level was blamed on the lower rainfall, whichreached only 50 percent of the average of many years, according to the steeringboard. It said this is considered abnormal as the rainy season lasted formonths and is going to end soon.
People in Ninh Thuan province are also struggling with therecord drought when the total amount of water of all reservoirs in the localityreached only 82.2 million cu.m, while the total designed capacity is nearly 195million cu.m. As many as 17 reservoirs dried up or started to reach the deadlevel.
In Quang Tri province, the rainfall also fell dramatically,equivalent to 53 percent of the average of previous years. The water level inmany reservoirs reached only 26-30 percent of the designed capacity.
A recent survey in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Trị provinces bythe Directorate of Water Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) shows that the provinces face high risks of drought andsaltwater intrusion, seriously affecting the production activities and livingconditions of local people.
An estimated total of nearly 8,500ha and 2,500ha of farmlandin Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, respectively, cannot be cultivateddue to water shortage in 2019.
Head of the Thua Thien-Hue Department of Agriculture andRural Development’s Plant Protection Sub-department, Cai Van Tham, said thatlocal farmers would have to face a tough crop when an estimated of 2,000-2,500haof farmland are forecast to suffer from water shortages for irrigation or theyhad to change production.
Head of the Directorate of Water Resources’ Department ofIrrigation Work Management, Nguyen Hong Khanh, said that localities needed tobalance water resources as well as have production plans for upcoming crops todeal with drought.
In a recent document guiding localities to prepare to copewith the 2018-2019 drought and saltwater intrusion, Minister of Agriculture andRural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong asked localities to adjust agriculturalproduction structure flexibly to adapt to the drought.
They were required to watch closely hydro-meteorologicalforecast to have proper prevention and control measures, store water atreservoirs reasonably to ensure enough water for agricultural production anddaily activities of farmers while developing solutions to ensure safety forreservoirs and dams.
It was also necessary to have plans to save water, dredgecanals, install pumping stations and make use of all available water sources,he noted.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has instructed the Electricityof Vietnam Group to build plans to operate hydropower plants appropriately toensure enough water for agricultural production, particularly those operatingin the south-central and Central Highlands region.-VNS/VNA
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