VietNamNet Bridge – The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is implementing measures to deal with the coming rainy season to protect lives and property of local residents.

At residential areas in Nui Sap Town and Vong The Commune in An Giang Province's Thoai Son District, the central flood-prone area in Long Xuyen Quadrilateral region, residents are busy moving into their new floodproof houses, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported.

Duong Hoa Nha, head of the Thoai Son District Construction Project Management Board, said: "The task of relocating households in flood-prone and landslide-prone areas have been implemented drastically."

The district has relocated more than 2,200 households into the 16 flood-proof residential clusters, which were built under the first phase of the 2001-13 national programme of building flood-proof residential clusters in the Delta.

Under the programme's first phase, Long An, Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, An Giang, Kien Giang and Hau Giang provinces and Can Tho City have relocated more than 130,000 households in low-lying areas into flood-proof residential clusters.

An Giang and Dong Thap, the delta's two upstream flooding provinces, have relocated all households in dangerous areas into flood-proof residential clusters.

Le Minh Chau, director of Dong Thap Province's Department of Construction, said: "Under the programme's first phase, Dong Thap has moved more than 37,000 households into 204 flood-proof residential clusters."

"We have boosted the process of clearing land to build infrastructure for the 43 flood-proof residential clusters to provide safe houses for 12,675 households under the programme's second phase," Chau said.

However, the process of building flood-proof residential clusters under the second phase has slowed because of capital shortage, he said.

The delta's flood and storm prevention and control steering committees at all levels are also carrying out measures to ensure safety for residents, including setting up rescue teams.

An Giang and Dong Thap, for instance, have set up more than 500 rescue teams with 3,000 rescuers.

The two provinces have also spent hundreds of billion of dong to organise swimming courses and boats to pick up students and offer childcare places in the flooding season.

Doan Minh Triet, deputy chairman of the Thoai Son District People's Committee, said the district had completed its dyke systems for flood control. Other localities in An Giang are also consolidating old dykes and building new ones, upgrading sluice gates and pumping stations, dredging canals and preparing facilities and fuels to pump water to protect the province's 125,000ha of the third rice crop.

Vuong Nghia Quoc, director of Dong Thap Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Dong Thap had also carried out measures to protect 99,300ha of the third rice crop and tens of thousands of hectares under fruit and aquatic cultivation in its closed dyke systems.

Mixed blessing

In recent years, besides dealing with flooding caused by the rising water from the upper stream of Tien and Hau rivers, two main tributaries of Mekong River, the delta has also exploited the advantages of flooding to develop production and do business.

Besides catching snails, crabs and fish brought from the flooding, tens of thousands of households in An Giang have been taught models of growing lotus, water chestnuts, sesban and other vegetables and aquatic cultivation during the flooding season, which often begins in September every year and lasts about three to four months.

In this year's flooding season, An Giang will continue developing its project of exploiting natural resources, brought from floods, with 30 production models in the plant cultivation aquaculture, and services sectors.

In 2000-02, flooding caused damage of VND300-400 billion (US$14.2-19 million) each year in An Giang.

But since 2002, An Giang farmers have taken advantage of flooding for production and have now earned VND4.5 trillion ($214 million) a year and provided jobs for 500,000 labourers.

Dong Thap Province's farmers also earn about VND500 billion to VND1 trillion ($23.8-47.6 million) in each flooding season.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News