The West is officially 'famine and flood' this year

The October forecast of the Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning (SIWRP) said: The flood season in the western provinces may peak on October 1-3 with the water level in Tan Chau reaching about 3.1 - 3.3m, 0.6 - 0.8m lower than the average of the same period in many years. In fact, the updated data at 7am on October 1 showed that the water level was only 2.8m, lower than the forecast and compared to the flood level at alert level 1 in Tan Chau at 3.5m, it is much lower. At the beginning of the season, experts predicted that the flood would be low this year, but the flood peak could reach approximately alert level 1.

Miền Tây năm nay chính thức 'đói lũ' - Ảnh 1. — The West is "hungry for floods", the risk of early and severe drought and salinity threatens the rice granary

Similarly, in Chau Doc, the flood peak is forecasted to be around 2.8 - 3m, 0.5 - 0.7m lower than the average of many years. Updated on the morning of October 1, it was only 2.55m. Much lower compared to the flood level at alert level 1 in Chau Doc, which is 3m.

The reason is a serious shortage of water from upstream. According to data from the Mekong River Commission, at the headwaters of the Mekong River in Cambodia, as of September 29, the water level at Kratie reached 18.08m, 0.08m higher than the average of many years in the same period. However, the water level at Tonle Sap reached 4.91m, 3.05m lower than the average of many years in the same period. The volume of Tonle Sap reached 32.15 billion cubic meters of water, 17.75 billion cubic meters lower than the average of many years in the same period.

So, up to this point, it can be said that this year the West is "famine-stricken". This may initially be favorable for autumn-winter rice production in the upstream provinces. However, the lack of floods means a decline in aquatic resources, a lack of alluvium to enrich the fields... More importantly, this year the drought and salinity will come early and severely.

Meanwhile, in October, due to high tides, the water level in the central and coastal areas of the river can reach alert level 2-3, causing flooding in many low-lying areas.

According to the MDM Project (monitoring the operation of Mekong hydropower dams), the reason is that this year many places in the middle and upper Mekong River areas are often dry, affected by the El Nino weather phenomenon. In addition, upstream hydropower dams, especially on the main stream of the Mekong River, have stored a huge amount of water, seriously affecting the natural flow of the river. In recent weeks, several billion cubic meters of water have been retained by the dams each week.

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