According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province, in recent days, rising floodwaters combined with high tides and heavy rains have continuously caused serious dike breaks, causing heavy damage and continuing to threaten thousands of hectares of rice of farmers.
In Truong Xuan commune, on the night of October 22, a dike broke, completely flooding more than 133 hectares of rice that had been over a month old with an investment cost of about 20 million VND/ha, almost lost.
By October 23, a dike in Phuong Tinh commune had broken, damaging 155 hectares of rice that had just been sown for 20 days and some fruit trees, with initial damage estimated at about 2 billion VND. In total, two consecutive dike breaches caused nearly 300 hectares of rice to be lost.
However, the risk of flooding threatening rice production is still very high as widespread rain continues to appear.
According to the Dong Thap Hydrometeorological Station, by October 28, the actual water level measured at many stations such as Truong Xuan and Hau My Bac all exceeded the alarm level III. Meanwhile, floodwaters continue to be at a dangerous level as it is forecasted that in the next few days, there will still be moderate to heavy rain in the late afternoon, increasing the level of flooding, threatening thousands of hectares of rice production of the people.
In Phuong Thinh commune alone, more than 7,000 hectares of rice have been planted and are under direct threat. Faced with the above situation, the local government has mobilized to reinforce weak dykes but encountered many difficulties due to the high water pressure.
On the provincial side, the People's Committee of Dong Thap province has requested the Department of Agriculture and Environment to strengthen inspection and review of the entire dike system to take timely response measures.
