Dong ThapTwo dikes in Truong Xuan commune, Phuong Thinh, Thap Muoi district (old) broke, causing nearly 300 hectares of rice to be lost.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ly, who has 2 hectares of rice in Truong Xuan commune, said the bag broke on the night of October 22. Many people tried to reinforce the dike with Melaleuca piles but could not withstand the huge water.
The damaged dike area has more than 133 hectares of rice, which has been sown for more than a month. The field owner applied two rounds of fertilizer, the investment cost was about 20 million VND per hectare. “Now that we have welded the dyke and pumped out the water, the rice is already waterlogged and cannot be saved,” Mr. Ly said.
The 155-hectare dike, Phuong Thinh commune, Dong Thap province, broke on October 23. Image: Nguyen Khanh
Nearby, the dike surrounding the east bank of Canal 5 Phuoc, Phuong Thinh commune also broke yesterday. The total dike area is 155 hectares, mainly rice just sown 20 days ago, a few hectares of orchards, estimated damage is about 2 billion VND.
Mr. Nguyen Chon Thien, Head of the Economic Department of Phuong Thinh commune, said that when the local dyke was discovered to be broken, they mobilized 70 people including police, militia, and many reinforced machinery and equipment, but the water pressure was too great to hold the dyke. The Commune People’s Committee proposed that the province provide support for farmers to overcome difficulties.
In addition to this area, the entire Phuong Thinh commune has more than 7,000 hectares of sown rice that are threatened by floodwaters. The commune government and the people organized to reinforce the dyke and responded to protect the rice.
Faced with the situation of rising floods combined with high tides and on-site rain, the People’s Committee of Dong Thap province requested the Department of Agriculture and Environment to strengthen inspection and assessment of the dike system, reviewing key locations and enclosing areas that are not safe and at risk of overflowing and breaking.
According to the forecast of the Dong Thap Hydro-meteorological Station, the water level in the upstream and downstream areas will gradually decrease in the next 5 days. The water level in the inland area of Thap Muoi has little fluctuation but is still affected by local rain, potentially exceeding alert level 3 by about 0.1 m.
Ngoc Tai