Paddy fields in the Mekong Delta annually receive Mekong River floodwaters as from July but the provinces of An Giang and Dong Thap have so far not seen this yet. Local residents are suffering from this phenomenon.
Mekong Delta residents travel by boats during last year's flood season. This year's flood season has yet arrived (Photo: SGGP)
At present, water levels upstream the Tien and Hau rivers are 1.85 - 2 meters, clearly lower than those in the same period last year, according to reports from An Giang.
In Dong Thap, boats have been strenuous to travel on some canals inner Thuong Phuoc 1 and 2 fields.
Local residents' concern
A host of residents in Dong Thap Province have expressed anxiety as they should have exploited an abundant source of seafood during the flood season, which has yet arrived.
People upstream have met a lot of difficulties as their earnings mainly rely on catching seafood, bringing them about VND70,000-100,000 a day, said Nguyen Thi Tron, from Hong Ngu town’s Binh Thanh District.
According to the Binh Thanh Commune People’s Committee, several households have spent tens of millions of dong on equipping means to catch seafood. However, their facilities have been blanketed as floodwaters have not visited their fields.
The late flood season has also hold on seafood farming as local residents in provinces like An Giang, Dong Thap and Kien Giang have lamented that they could not raise fish and shrimps due to a shortage of water.
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