Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
Scenes from a drought
Across the country of Cambodia, water scarcity is threatening health and livelihoods. In what may be the worst regional drought in more than 50 years, brought on by an El Niño cycle exacerbated by climate change, water shortages have been declared in 18 of the ...
Laos yet to formulate drought response plan
An official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mrs Sonephet Phosarath said on 28 April that the relevant ministries have an emergency response plan to fight against the worsening drought. “Someday, the Lao government will make a plan to respond to worsening droughts and floods,” ...
Vietnam seeks aid as drought threatens millions
Officials from the country’s agriculture ministry and the United Nations said more than 60,000 women and children in 18 hardest-hit provinces in southern and central Vietnam are facing malnutrition while around 1.75 million people from farming families have had their livelihoods badly hit. Keep reading ...
Gov't drought aid push underway
The Cambodian government on 25 April announced a range of assistance to help farmers affected by the worst drought the Kingdom has seen in 50 years. “The Ministry of Agriculture has researched rice and vegetables that are resistant to climate change,” said a ministry statement. “The ...
Mekong urged to improve irrigation
Do Duc Dung, head of the Southern Irrigation Planning Institute, said the irrigation systems in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle and Dong Thap Muoi regions are weak and canals need to be dredged and the weakness of the delta’s irrigation systems has limited the control of ...
Prime Minister targets water crisis
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 ...
Vietnam seeks Japan’s assistance in climate change response
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 ...
Mekong water crisis compounded by rice-killing drought
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 ...
Climate change inflicts damage on rice in Mekong Delta provinces
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 ...
Drought killing next year's sugar crop
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 ...