Within the past 10 years, the marine dyke in Hai Trieu commune, Hai Hau district, has broken twice, allowing seawater to flood the commune’s fields. When the water receded, the vegetables were already ruined by the salty water and the foundations of people’s houses were weakened.

But even this was not the worst happening as sea waves continued to encroach on the coastal areas.

“My garden had a total area of 1800m² before 1987. The overflow of seawater has eroded and salted the garden and has made it shrink by more than a half,” said Bui Thi Hoa, a 57-year-old woman in Hai Trieu commune.

“Now, the garden is not large enough for cultivation to feed our family. We have turned to living mainly by making salt, which earns us only VND7 million ($438) per year,” Ms Hoa said.

Last year, the vegetables planted in her garden died due to the heavily salted land. This year, her garden was treated to remove the salt but there was a drop in vegetable prices. Now, the poor woman puts her hopes in some beds of millet that she has sown.

The case of Ms Hoa is typical of many households along the beach of Nam Dinh province, whose gardens have becoming increasingly smaller and can accommodate only a modest amount of vegetables and bulbs. Many residents have been forced to relocate to new places deep inland. What’s left of old churches, schools, and villages destroyed by sea waves can be seen along the beach of Nam Dinh.

Statistics by the Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics show an annual rise of 2.15mm in sea level in Nam Dinh, pushing the coastline 10m inwards. Nam Dinh’s own figures indicate that a total of 180ha of land in Hai Trieu commune has been submerged.

“The sea has continuously encroached inland since 1996,” said Bui Van Dung, chairman of the communal people’s committee. “Meanwhile, our dyke, which was not reinforced with concrete, is showing cracks under heavy rains and waves.”

The erosion of Nam Dinh beach is blamed on the increased force of the waves and rising sea levels. To make matters worse, the mangrove forests, which helped prevent the strong waves breaking on the shore and eroding the arable land, have been destroyed and turned into ponds to raise shrimps for export.

VietNamNet/VOV