Vietnam Central Province Struggles with Drought

The central Vietnamese province of Ninh Thuan is suffering from a serious drought which has depleted 20 local lakes during the last six months. Phan Rang, the province’s biggest city, is considered the most arid area in the country with a yearly average rainfall of 600mm, equal to only one-seventh of the rainfall in Thua Thien-Hue, another central province. This year, the situation worsened when the drought season began two months earlier than in previous years. The city has barely seen a drop of rain over the last six months and its rainfall total in 2014 only reached 300mm, equivalent to the rainfall of one downpour in the central region. The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said if the drought keeps raging, 35,000 people will be left with a clean water shortage. In addition, more than 6,000 hectares of plants have been abandoned while nearly 400 cattle have died, the department added. The numbers are expected to increase sharply since 150,000 animals are now facing a serious lack of water. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents have captured how people living in the area are dealing with the situation. (Tuoi Tre – Youth May 13)