Disasters

Speaking at the session to recommend targets for the committee in Hanoi on 19 April, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said, “We can’t blame lack of capital for not ensuring enough fresh water for our residents.” Phuc ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ...

President Tran Dai Quang asked for Japan’s continued assistance in responding to climate change, especially drought and saline intrusion in the central, Central Highlands and southern regions, while receiving Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Fukada Hiroshi in Hanoi on 19 April. The State leader thanked Japan for ...

The 3.6 hectares in southern Vietnam that double as rice paddy and shrimp pond for farmer Nguyen Thi Tam have become a wasteland. After the worst drought in 90 years, almost nothing grows. It’s not that easy to switch, said Nguyen Trung Kien, vice chairman of ...

In Ca Mau, about 10,000 prawn-rice hectares suffered heavy damage, 3,000 hectares of which were totally lost and the rest lost 70 percent and above of crops. U Minh, Tran Van Thoi and Thoi Binh districts suffered the heaviest losses. In Tien Giang, the Irrigation and Flood ...

The El Nino weather phenomenon has played havoc with crops across Southeast Asia and beyond. Thailand, the world’s second-largest sugar exporter, will ship 20% less of the sweetener to international markets this year than last, and farmers fear the damage already inflicted on young cane ...

In their fight against drought and saline intrusion, farmers in Tiểu Cần District of the southern Trà Vinh Province have contributed their own money to build canals and ditches. Each household in the Trung Tiến Hamlet of Tân Hùng Commune contributes about VNĐ70,000 (US$3) per every ...

Drought and saltwater intrusion in Vietnam’s southern and central regions will persist through April, according to experts. Nguyen Dang Quang, a drought expert at the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said at a Monday forum in Hanoi that the intense El Nino phenomenon from last year ...

Vietnam is willing to cooperate with China and other riparian countries to establish a cooperation center for sustainable use of the Mekong River’s water resources, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said, the Greater Mekong Subregion is facing major security and development challenges, especially pollution, ...

Laos has started releasing around 1,136 cubic meters of water per second from its dams to the Mekong River to help Vietnam’s southern region cope with severe drought and saltwater intrusion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The country planned to keep doing so ...

Forest fires were still burning high on mountains ringing Thailand’s provincial capital Mae Hong Son on 22 March, with firefighters struggling to reach hot spots in very difficult terrain.  Keep reading ...