LookAtVietnam – Farmers wanting to irrigate vital winter-spring crops face severe water shortages as the Hong (Red) River level falls during dry weather.

From late next month, rivers in the northern and central regions could have small floods, which would peak in August and September.

On average, the level was 2.85m during 2001-07, said Hien, who attributed the level to the low rainfall of recent months.

Faced with shortages, many provinces had been taking more water from the river than what was flowing into its upper reaches, he said.

Nguyen The Vinh, head of the water management office of the Me Linh Irrigation Company, which manages the irrigation of more than 8,000ha of crops, said farmers faced many difficulties as the river’s levels fell during past years.

The company used six pumps but failed to meet farmers’ demands because the machines were designed to operate at levels of 3.5-4m.

Ministry figures showed farmers with about 40,000ha of the 500,000ha of winter-spring crops in the north faced water shortages. Ha Noi, Phu Tho and Ninh Binh provinces were the hardest hits.

Nguyen Duy Hong, head of the farming office of the Ha Noi department of agriculture and rural development, said many winter-spring crops had started to blossom, so the shortage would greatly affect crop yields.

To ensure enough water, the ministry planned to work with Electricity of Viet Nam to release water from lakes and reservoirs, including those in Tuyen Quang and Hoa Binh provinces.

Hot spells

The shortage could intensify if Central Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre predictions of hot spells and storms this summer eventuate.

The centre said the situation could be worse than the same period last year and urged localities to act quickly to lessen the impact of any natural disasters.

The summer could have 10 hot spells, which may be longer and hotter, while there would be more rain and storms, said the centre’s deputy director, Nguyen Lan Chau.

From late next month, rivers in the northern and central regions could have small floods, which would peak in August and September.

The total forecast rainfall would be higher than previous years, especially in the north, the Central Highlands and the south.

Ha Noi was unlikely to have floods like those experienced recently but they were inevitable in some regions, she said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News