Disasters
Drought
Vietnam's Deputy PM outlines drought prevention plans for the parched south-central region
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the south-central region and Central Highlands to take measures to prevent droughts at a meeting with local authorities in Ninh Thuan province on 22 February. He urged the localities to examine water reservoirs and build plans for water usage, ...
Bangkok faces water test as drought looms
Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis. The test will run from 9pm 24 February till 9pm 25 February. “We need to make preparations for any emergency and any ...
Drought set 'to worsen' from next month
More severe drought is expected to hit Thailand between March and April, as authorities have already declared 11 provinces disaster zones due to water scarcity. State agencies are now regulating water more carefully and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the 1st Army, which oversees the central ...
Mekong sees worst drought in 90 years
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered relevant ministries and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces to prioritise the fight against drought and saltwater intrusion which have severely affected agriculture and fisheries and caused a crippling water shortage. Speaking at a seminar in Can Tho City ...
Mekong reels from drought, saltwater
Drought and saltwater intrusion have worsened in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta this year, threatening rice crops and the daily life of residents. Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said: “Saltwater intrusion [began in] November 2015, one and half months ...
Water shipped to parched Banteay Meanchey locale
At least 600 families in the remote Svay Chek district of Banteay Meanchey province are being threatened by a shortage of drinking water that began earlier this month, a provincial official said on 16 February. The water in the wells and rivers has been drying up ...
Fearing water shortages, Myingyan residents protest reclamation
Myanmar farmers are protesting against a plan they say will reduce their water supply. They say water is so short they have already been forced to abandon growing paddy and switch to beans and pulses. They demand that work to open up land around a nearby ...
Farmers told to prepare for drought as El Niño’s stay extended
Just six months after record-setting floods wreaked havoc on crops, farmers are being told to get ready to withstand severe drought. Meteorologists predict it’s likely to be one for the decades. The El Niño event that hit Myanmar last year – and caused conditions among the ...
Thai military warns farmers of pump seizures
Thai military officers have warned farmers to stop pumping water from Klong Makham Thao, or they will have their water pumps seized. The officers, who were sent to inspect water drainage in Klong Makham Thao running through Chai Nat province, urged farmers to cooperate with authorities ...
Thai PM blames past policies for drought
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has blamed past policies that heavily promoted cash crops as a root cause of floods and drought. Commenting in the latest government’s newsletter, Gen Prayut said growing cash crops without controls leads to the destruction of forests and watershed areas, and even affects ...