another dyke cannot protect the fields when floods come
Along the Vinh Dinh River passing through My Thuy Commune (Quang Tri Province), there is a 5km long dike section surrounding more than 900 hectares of people's rice fields. This dike section has the effect of preventing floods and protecting crops, but in recent years many sections have been degraded.
Mr. Phan Van Quang - Director of Dong Duong Production and Service Cooperative (Duong Dong village, My Thuy commune, Quang Tri province) said that he has been attached to the fields since 1975 and knows the benefits of the dike. But now, mentioning storm No. 1 that occurred more than a month ago, he was worried because the dyke line could no longer withstand the early flood.
Mr. Quang said that on the evening of June 12, heavy rain caused the water level on the Vinh Dinh River to rise and then overflowed the entire dike into the fields. Members of the cooperative were mobilized to go to the fields, trying to pour sand into bags to raise the dykes, limiting water from overflowing the fields.
"Every time the dike rises, the water rises, and by 11pm the dike breaks. The cooperative was helpless, unable to see it at night, but everyone knew that the rice fields were submerged in floodwater, Mr. Phan Van Quang recalled.
As of June 13, the rain continued, among the 200 hectares of rice of the cooperative in Dong Duong village, there were still some areas that could be "saved", so the members focused there. But the dike broke and the river water kept flooding in, unable to fix it, so the fields had to be abandoned.
Not only in Indochina village, in My Thuy commune, 900 hectares of rice that have been planted are in a state of clear water. Rice fields have banks and plots that are submerged in water. The reason is because the 5km dike protecting rice fields was largely "exceeded" by floodwaters.
"The dykes are considered a protective line to prevent unseasonal floods, but if they cannot prevent floods, farmers can only look with their own hands, and cannot save them no matter how much effort and assets have been put into the fields" Mr. Phan Van Quang said.
Both working and afraid of losing everything again
Floodwaters flooded into high fields, the whole field was flooded, so when the rain stopped, the Dong Duong Production and Service Cooperative had to mobilize all the pumping machines to drain water. It was not until June 25, more than 10 days after the dyke was flooded, that the water in the fields basically receded. At this time, the entire 200ha of rice of the cooperative was deeply submerged in water and was completely damaged.
The water receded, at the 0.4ha rice field of Mr. Doan Thien (Indochina village) belonging to the cooperative, the field surface was like a dumping ground with rocks, concrete blocks and mud covered with broken embankment. More than a month since the impact of storm No. 1, this area of rice fields has not been able to be repaired.
The fields cannot be left abandoned, except for areas of fields that are severely damaged like Mr. Doan Thien's, other areas are forced to be replanted. People rushed to the fields to sow. Now, the rice has begun to take root, turn green, and cover the fields that were once flooded, but the Director of the Dong Duong Production and Service Cooperative is still worried.
"According to the correct season schedule for this crop, we must harvest before August 25, but because the rice died and had to be re-sown 20 days late, the harvest was not completed until mid-September. Worried that the harvest will face floods, sometimes the food will be taken away by the sky, Mr. Phan Van Quang exclaimed.
Mr. Cap Xuan Ta - Chairman of My Thuy Commune People's Committee said that more than 900 hectares of rice of local people have been repaired after the impact of storm No. 1. Before taking on the position of commune chairman, Mr. Ta was Vice Chairman of Hai Lang District People's Committee, he knew well the seasonal schedule as well as the weather developments in the lowland area of Hai Lang, so he expressed his concern.
Mr. Ta said that the locality encouraged and supported farmers to recover rice fields damaged by floods with the slogan of not leaving rice fields abandoned. However, the flood-prevention dykes have now degraded severely, and this rice crop is sown nearly a month late than the crop schedule, so there will be many potential risks.
"If you don't stick to the fields, you can't do it, but replanting and investing in them is risky, so not only the people but also the locality are worried" - Mr. Cap Xuan Ta said.
The entire old Hai Lang district is now merged into 5 low-lying communes - including My Thuy, a key rice granary of Quang Tri province. The deterioration of the dyke system and weather changes have caused the whole area to be immersed in constant worry.
People have poured sweat for the second time on the same plot of land, replanting rice after the flood, but who is worried that just one more unusually heavy rain, all their efforts and assets could be swept away. At that time, it is not only a loss of crop, but also a loss of confidence in the dykes that are fighting in a lucky way amid increasingly extreme weather.
