Urgently overcome the consequences of flooding

Prolonged heavy rains in recent days have flooded 1,380 hectares of newly planted rice and 1,970 hectares of vegetables, mostly in Vu Thu district. The two companies operating the Bac and Nam Thai Binh irrigation works have zoned off and operated pumping stations at maximum capacity to urgently drain water from the flooded crop areas.

Farmers in Nguyen Xa commune (Vu Thu) replant direct-sown areas damaged by flooding.

According to a quick report from the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Control and Search and Rescue, due to the impact of storm No. 2, the province experienced moderate to heavy rain, with the average rainfall in the province from 22:00 to 16:00 on July 23 being 83.1mm, with some places experiencing heavier rain such as Hung Dung commune (Hung Ha) with 135.2mm and Dong Quan (Dong Hung) with 102.2mm. Previously, from July 15 to 20, the province also experienced moderate to heavy rain. The continuous heavy rains occurring at the end of the planting season have significantly affected production.

Recorded in Nguyen Xa commune (Vu Thu) - a locality with a large direct sowing area, many newly sown rice areas were flooded, causing damage and had to be replanted. Mr. Pham Van Linh's family in Kien Xa village had more than 4 sao of direct sowing rice fields with 50 - 70% damage. Immediately after the rain stopped, Mr. Linh bought seedlings and hired workers to replant the missing areas to ensure density. For each sao, Mr. Linh lost an additional 150,000 - 200,000 VND for seedlings, not including the cost of hiring workers to replant.

Next to Mr. Linh's field is the 3-sao field of Mr. Pham Van Manh's family that also had to be replanted. Mr. Manh shared: This season, I borrowed other people's fields to plant 20 acres. Because I haven't invested in a transplanter, I sowed the entire area directly. Up to now, more than half of the rice area has been lost due to flooding. The damaged area is mostly at the foot of low-lying fields, sown late in the crop calendar, so the rice plants are still short and cannot withstand water. The season 3 years ago also encountered a similar situation, but the rain was short, so I used a field pump to save the rice in time. This season, the heavy rain lasted for many days, and the drainage was not fast enough. The estimated damage is over 30 million VND. However, farming is also difficult to avoid risks, so I bought seeds, soaked them, re-sown them in trays to rent a transplanter, determined to cover the entire area.

Vu Thu is a locality with a high direct sowing rate. These are areas that are very susceptible to heavy rains, especially deep, low-lying areas where drainage is not proactive. In addition, due to the high water level on the main river system, it is impossible to drain horizontally, so the flooded area is large. By 5:00 p.m. on July 23, Vu Thu district had about 1,300 hectares of rice and 1,970 hectares of vegetables flooded.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, station manager of Nguyen Tien Doai pumping station (Vu Thu) said: Carrying out the task of draining water for 750 hectares of cultivated land in the communes of Vu Tien, Vu Doai, Nguyen Xa, Duy Nhat, Hong Phong, Viet Thuan, in the past few days, we have assigned forces to work 24/7, operating 7/7 pumps with a total capacity of ^28,000m3 /hour, taking advantage of every hour, every minute to operate the pumping station. Thanks to that, some areas of water are gradually receding. Hopefully it will not rain anymore to drain the water as quickly as possible.

Mr. Dao Van Phan, Deputy Head of Water and Construction Management Department, Nam Thai Binh Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited, said: Due to the impact of the flood, the riverbank sluices in Kien Xuong and Tien Hai areas could not drain; the main sluices of the unit such as Lan 1, Lan 2, Hoang Mon sluices have been draining continuously since July 10 until now. In addition, due to the concentrated rainfall in the southern districts coinciding with the period when people closed the area for growing winter-spring rice, we have zoned off and operated pumping stations to drain the deep, flooded areas. By 8:00 a.m. on July 24, we operated 20 sluices across the dike; 9 pumping stations: Vu Quy (Kien Xuong); Hiep Trung, Sa Lung (Thai Binh city); Tan Phuc Binh, Nam Bi, Nguyet Lang, Phu Sa, Cu Lam, Nguyen Tien Doai (Vu Thu), using all means to drain the water as quickly as possible to save the rice. Many rice areas have been safely protected so far. In the coming days, gravity drainage will face difficulties due to tides and the Hoa Binh hydroelectric reservoir releasing floodwaters, so irrigation management units will continue to update weather and hydrological developments to operate pumping stations and regulate water appropriately, proactively taking measures to deal with unusual developments.

The agricultural sector directs the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection; the Agricultural Extension Center to coordinate with localities to provide guidance on technical measures to overcome and restore agricultural production affected by heavy rains. Focus on caring for, preventing and controlling pests and diseases in unaffected rice and vegetable areas. For areas that can be restored after heavy rains, it is necessary to destroy golden apple snails, perform additional pruning and care for recovery. For flooded areas that cannot be restored, instruct people to proactively use short-term varieties for replanting.