A section of Cà Mau Province’s western sea dyke in Trần Văn Thời District has badly subsided. – VNA/VNS Photo Kim Há

CÀ MAU – Natural disasters have caused losses worth VNĐ1.06 trillion (US$46 million) in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Cà Mau this year, destroying public infrastructure, houses and crops, according to the local Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue.

During the last dry season between the end of last year and the early months of this year drought caused a water shortage for more than 28,000 households and 43,583ha of forests.

Then, in recent months, heavy rains and strong winds flattened or blew off the roofs of 859 houses and damaged 43,460ha of rice, 578ha of vegetables, 408ha of fruits, and 20,500ha of aquaculture.

Heavy rains and high tides inundated 470km of canals and rural roads and the Hồ Chí Minh Road in the districts of Năm Căn and Ngọc Hiển.

Erosion in both the eastern and western coastal areas and mangrove forests occurred on a total length of 105 km. Erosion also damaged 46km of roads at 1,367 sites.

Cà Mau, the country’s southernmost province, is a peninsula with around 254km of coast. Its western sea dyke has been eroded and the area has subsided badly at many spots.

The province People’s Committee declared an erosion emergency in the 108km western dyke two times this year as a total of 5.8km in U Minh and Trần Văn Thời districts were dangerously affected.

Natural disasters caused the death of five people at sea and two others to go missing.

The province spent VNĐ697 billion ($30 million) on disaster relief this year.

It has petitioned the Government to allocate funds for upgrading 23km of the Sông Đốc - Cái Đôi Vàm section of the western dyke. 

It has set up teams comprising more than 8,600 people for rapid response to natural disasters. 

Lê Quân, chairman of the province People’s Committee, has ordered a survey of all damages caused by natural disasters to provide relief to and rehabilitate households.

Local authorities should closely monitor weather forecasts and take proactive steps to safeguard agriculture and step up inspections to ensure the safety of irrigation works, dykes and embankments, he added. – VNS