An embankment has been made from earth and sand bags to prevent further erosion along the Hậu River in Trà Vinh Province’s Cầu Kè District. – VNA/VNS Photo Trần Thị Thanh Hoà

TRÀ VINH – The Trà Vinh People’s Committee has declared an erosion emergency on the Hậu, Tân Dinh and Bông Bót rivers in Cầu Kè District.

Many dyke sections along the Hậu, a tributary of the Mekong, in Ninh Thới and Hoà Tân communes have been eroded to a total length of 312 metres.

High tides, strong water flows and prolonged heavy rains have eroded two to five metres of the Hậu River dyke in the two communes, according to Nguyễn Trung Hoàng, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee.

The sections have weak soil and no protective forests, he said.

On Monday tides tore through a combined 80 metres of the dyke in seven places in Ninh Thới, inundating 37ha of orchards belonging to 69 farmers.

They also flooded places in Hoà Tân, inundating 24ha of farming areas.

The water rose to near the top of the dyke.

If these eroded sections are not repaired before the next high tides, heavy rains and storms likely at the end of this year can breach the dyke further, threatening people, infrastructure and 429ha of orchards, according to local authorities.

In Cầu Kè District’s Tam Ngãi Commune, dykes along the Tân Dinh and Bông Bót rivers have been eroded for a total length of 170 metres.

The dykes had already eroded in many places and locals built embankments to protect them, but the erosion has become more severe recently, and there is erosion of up to four metres in many sections now.

The People’s Committee has instructed Cầu Kè to instal warning signs at eroded sections in the three rivers and publish the erosion information in the media so that people could take proactive preventive measures.

The district has arranged to monitor the erosion situation and has materials and facilities in place to cope with further erosion.

It has encouraged households in erosion-prone areas to relocate to safer areas.

The province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the district are monitoring the erosion situation and have drafted plans to cope with further erosion and protect dykes.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province plans to spend VNĐ3.6 billion (US$150,000) on natural disaster prevention works this year. – VNS