Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged relevant ministries, agencies and localities to take measures to cope with the risks of drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion.

Many regions across the country, especially the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta, face risks of water shortage, drought and saline intrusion next month, according to hydro-meteorology experts.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong spoke about the need to develop a master development planning for the Mekong Delta region.

Farmers in Dong Thap Province’s Hong Ngu District will not grow the autumn-winter rice crop, the year’s third, on more than 9,000ha and will instead release floodwaters into their fields to fertilise the soil and destroy pathogens and pests.

About 5,600 households in Kien Giang Province’s An Bien District lack access to clean water and have to harvest rainwater or buy clean water from other areas, according to the district’s People’s Committee.

Da Nang, considered the most liveable city in Vietnam, is facing a risk of lacking domestic water on a large scale because of saline intrusion and other factors in the 2020 dry season.

Thousands of households in central Binh Dinh Province’s My Chanh Commune have been living without tap water for years and must buy clean water for daily use.

Nearly 8,000 households in the northern province of Nghe An’s Do Luong Town are facing a shortage of water after a dam collapsed on Saturday.

The south-central region is estimated to have 51,000 – 70,000ha of farmlands facing a water shortage and a temporary halt to cultivation until there is rain or farmers switch to drought-resistant crops, according to the Department of Irrigation.

The Mekong Delta province of Long An, which has been hit by severe drought this year, needs more fresh water, but can only supply about 50 percent of demand from its 35 fresh water treatment plants and stations.

The drought-hit Mekong Delta province of Long An this year needs more fresh water, but can only supply about 50 per cent of demand from its 35 fresh water treatment plants and stations. 

Thousands of households in the central province of Ninh Thuan have been facing a shortage of fresh water due to severe and prolonged drought.

Thousands of people in the Mekong Delta Region have been given free freshwater to deal with the on-going drought and saline intrusion.

Hundreds of hectares of crops are withering as Dak Snghe River in Kon Ray district in Kon Tum province is being blocked by two hydropower plants.

About 95,600 households in Mekong Delta face freshwater shortage because of drought and saline intrusion.

Thousands of hectares of farmland in the central region were likely to face severe water shortages for the summer-autumn rice crop, according to the General Department of Irrigation.

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.

Authorities and farmers in the Central Highlands region are taking measures to cope with severe drought to reduce damages to crops. 

Hundreds of hectares of rice fields in Binh Thuan Commune, Binh Dinh Province are being abandoned due to serious drought.