Fresh Water Delivered to Areas Suffering from Drought

Nearly 15 million liters of fresh water were delivered on May 12 to central Ninh Thuan Province's Thuan Nam and Bac Ai districts, which have been suffering from a severe drought. The fresh water is for local residents who need water for drinking and other domestic uses. These two districts have not registered rainfall for nearly two years and currently have no water for agricultural uses. The fresh water is being paid for by Thai Binh Petroleum Company and Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam Ltd. Earlier, Vietnam Red Cross Society assisted those living in the province with 900 plastic water storage tanks and 2,700 Aquatab water purification packets valued at VND1 billion ($47,600). According to province officials, between January and April the drought caused 20 water reservoirs to fall to just 10%, in comparison with the same period in earlier years. Rivers and lakes have also become dry. (Vietnam News May 13)