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Helping hand: Viet Nam Red Cross workers deliver food to residents in the badly-hit province of Long An. — VNS Photo Van Khang

CUU LONG DELTA — One hundred thousand farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta are facing food shortages as flood waters rise and swamp homes and rice fields.

The dangerously high water levels have killed 14 people this week, most of them children.

Seven people died in the province of Dong Thap, which borders Cambodia, and seven in An Giang.

Officials from the low-lying An Giang said 3,000 people needed relief.

The flood waters have submerged nearly 500ha of rice and other crops and covered 20km of roads in the province.

One thousand households have so far been evacuated to higher ground.

A disaster relief official in An Giang Province said water levels at the key Tan Chau and Chau Doc gauging stations on the Cuu Long River were dangerously high.

Tan Chau has reached 4.60m, 39cm higher than the third warning level. This level indicates low-lying areas will already be submerged, river dykes will be in jeopardy and infrastructure damaged.

In the neighbouring province of Long An, the floods have inundated Tan Hung and Vinh Hung districts, keeping 13,000 students away from school.

Tens of thousands of delta residents have been forced to flee their homes and officials said 1,500 soldiers and volunteers were helping to move more from stricken areas and reinforce flood defences.

The delta is hit by seasonal floods annually of varying severity, but last year suffered a major catastrophe. More than 300 people died in the worst floods in 40 years.

The disaster prompted emergency work to repair dykes and irrigation canals as well as campaigns to reduce child deaths.

This has helped keep casualties low so far this year, even though the waters are higher than in August 2000.

An official from Dong Thap said villages in the province had teams of rescuers on 24-hour alert to help people escape flooded areas, harvest rice or strengthen dykes.

More than 1,900 families have been evacuated to higher ground and another 3,600 families-some 18,000 people-are still awaiting relocation.

Meanwhile, northern provinces are bracing for the approach of a tropical storm expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains to coastal areas.

Tropical storm Fitow was moving towards the country’s north-east and was some 50km off the coast of Quang Ninh Province, packing winds of 39-61km per hour.

Fitow has move north and north-west at a speed of 5-10kph, bringing whirlwinds and torrential rain to Quang Ninh Province and the northern port of Hai Phong, it said.

A meteorologist from the National Hydro-Metereology Centre said the storm was heading for southern China, but its effects would be felt over the past 48 hours in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong.

Officials in the area said disaster management forces were making preparations. — VNS

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