Mekong floods at record high, 24 die
CUU LONG DELTA — Flooding in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta had killed 24 people as of Sunday, according to the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control.

Of the total, Dong Thap and Kien Giang provinces had the highest number (six people in each province), followed by Can Tho City (five), An Giang Province (four) and Long An Province (three).

Flooding from the Mekong River, where tides have reached a record-high this year, have inundated 57,175 houses, 22,920ha of autumn-winter rice and 3,159ha of other crops in the Delta, mostly in An Giang and Dong Thap.

The National Hydro-Meteorology Forecast Centre yesterday predicted that the water level in the Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) and the Long Xuyen Quadrangle would continue to rise. The third-level warning would be in effect until the end of the month.

During this flooding season, local authorities in An Giang and Dong Thap have set up hundreds of caretaking sites for children whose parents need to go to work.

New harbour for fishing boats ready soon

TIEN GIANG — The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is building a harbour at the mouth of the Soai Rap River to provide safe anchorage for 200 fishing vessels, to be completed by the end of the year.

The harbour, in Go Cong Dong District, costing VND130 billion (US$6.34 million), is being funded from Government bonds and the province's budget. — VNS
Dong Thap now has 400 caretaking sites, attracting about 4,000 kindergarten-age children.

The province is also harvesting hundreds of ha of rice before their harvest date within the next 10 days to avoid flood damage.

Floods have destroyed nearly 2,100ha of rice in Dong Thap with an estimated VND200 billion (US$9.5 million) in damages.

In An Giang, floods have destroyed 4,200ha of rice, inundated 16,965 houses and damaged more than 46km of roads since reaching high levels on September 20.

An Giang now has 10,500 households who are in danger of running out of food.

The An Giang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked localities to monitor dykes around the clock and to strengthen major dykes to protect 127,00ha of autumn-winter rice, as floodwater levels are only 0.2-0.5 metres lower than the surface of several dykes.

The province has spent about VND300 billion ($14.2 million) to reinforce more than 430km of dykes so far, according to the provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control.

An Giang needed to reinforce another 600km of dykes, it said.

In Long An, the provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control is guiding local authorities to relocate flood-prone households to flood-proof residential clusters to ensure their safety when floods reach a peak in mid October.

More than 5,600 households in Long An are now 0.4-0.5 metres deep in water.

However, Long An has had only 40 of 4,000ha of autumn-winter rice destroyed by flooding because it has a good dyke system.

Long An finished harvesting its autumn-winter rice crop yesterday, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. — VNS

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