An icy cold spell, together with
hoarfrost and foggy weather, over the past several days has caused the
hospitalisation of thousands of children suffering cold-related diseases and
severely affected production in the northern region.

A prolonged cold front with thick fog slows traffic along Highway 6 from northern Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. (Photo: VNS)

Three
more prolonged cold spells were likely to wreak havoc in the north with the
lowest temperatures ranging between 0 and 2 degrees Celsius by the lunar New
Year, the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre has warned.

Director
of Lao Cai Province No1 General Hospital’s Planning Department Bui Chi Nam said
the prolonged icy weather has sent nearly 200 children, mostly under
six-years-old, to the hospital with flu viruses and respiratory and digestive
problems over the last ten days.

A report
from the Central Pediatrics Hospital in Ha Noi showed that more than 1,300
children were admitted for treatment on average each day for the same diseases.
The number of youngsters admitted to Bach Mai and Saint Paul hospitals increased
by 20 per cent during this period.

Severe
weather also caused a shortage of water for spring crops, especially in border
and mountainous areas such as Muong Khuong, Si Ma Cai and Bat Xat Districts in
Lao Cai Province.

The
province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development deputy director
Nguyen Dinh Que said that about 820ha of rice crops withered and half needed to
be switched to another crop.

Que said
it would take nearly VND9 billion (US$460) to overcome the crisis.

Sa Pa
residents were forced to move their livestock to lower areas of Lao Cai City,
about 40km away, to avoid the cold front. About 50 buffaloes and cows were
reported to have died in Pac Nam District in Bac Can Province.

The
price of vegetables and meat also jumped up between 15 and 20 per cent.

Do Thi
Vu Quynh, chairperson of Manh Quynh Clean Vegetable Co-operative in Ha Noi’s
Dong Anh District, said, however, that farmers gained no profit from the price
hike as frosty temperatures hindered vegetable growth.

Agricultural authorities from mountainous regions have required that local
residents stop grazing livestock during cold days and begin storing cooking and
covering breeding facilities to keep them warm.

Check
points were established at main roads in Lang Son Province to seize livestock
with diseases. About 166 buffaloes and cows with foot-and-mouth disease were
culled.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News