Eleven minor earthquakes have occurred in Vietnam since the beginning of this year, according to the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has allocated VND800 million (nearly US$34,000) to five provinces which have declared an emergency due to saltwater intrusion.

Experts believe that it is necessary to think of measures to lead water to the Mekong Delta through a transmission network to save the area from severe drought and saline intrusion.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently had a working session with localities declaring an emergency because of drought and saline intrusion in Mekong Delta, including Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed resuming rice exports from April, with a volume of 400,000 tonnes, after it has compiled reports on production, domestic consumption and exports to submit to the Prime Minister.

Graduating from the Mekong Delta’s prestigious Can Tho University, 24-year-old Pham Thanh Vu still refers himself as a farmer in the truest sense of the word.

Can Tho, the most populated city in the Mekong Delta region, has achieved outstanding results in developing a project to build a smart city after nearly two years of implementation.

Shrimp prices have plummeted in the Mekong Delta since global demand has been hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rice farmers in the Mekong Delta are earning higher incomes from selling rice straw left over from the harvested 2019 – 20 winter-spring rice crop.

Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert on the Mekong Delta, said he warned of severe drought and saline intrusion in mid-2019 after observing the flood season and the salty-fresh water boundary of the river.

Saltwater intrusion has affected many fruit growing areas in the Mekong Delta as local farmers struggle to secure irrigation water for their orchards.

The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang on March 23 raised the fire danger level in the locality from “very high” (level 4) to “extreme” (level 5) due to long-lasting heat and low humidity in local forests.

Vietnam is taking steps to ensure the country’s food security amidst heavy drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta region.

It is now the dry season, but landslides and subsidence are occurring in most localities in Mekong Delta.

Though saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta comes earlier and with higher level of salinity than that recorded in the 2015-16 dry season, the damages to farming areas are expected to be less serious

Lotus is the iconic flower of Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Food, drinks and various products made from lotus are popular among local residents.

All forests south of the Hau River in the Mekong Delta have been facing the threat of fire since the middle of this month, and any fire would spread very quickly because of the heat and low humidity, local authorities have warned. 

The UN Development Programme and the Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development signed an agreement on March 17 to support the Mekong Delta’s response to drought and saltwater intrusion.

The Mekong Delta region has been badly hit by saltwater intrusion. Experts have warned that the region will have to suffer prolonged drought and saline intrusion during the rest of this year’s dry season.

The Mekong Delta and southern islands like Phu Quoc and Con Dao are dominating domestic tour bookings as COVID-19 cases rise elsewhere in Vietnam.