Floodwaters have submerged most short-term vegetable crops in Đơn Dương Commune, Lâm Đồng Province, causing severe losses to local farmers after days of relentless rainfall. — VNA/VNS Photo

LÂM ĐỒNG — Continuous heavy rains combined with sudden flood discharge from a hydropower reservoir have left large areas of Đơn Dương region, the biggest vegetable production hub in Lâm Đồng Province, submerged for days.

The unexpected disaster has struck local farmers at a time when vegetable prices are surging, worsening their losses as entire crops are now underwater.

Along the Đa Nhim River, which flows through the former Đơn Dương area, farmers have been anxiously monitoring the water levels as rising floodwaters completely engulf their fields.

From Ka Đô Bridge in Ka Đô Commune, floodwaters can be seen encroaching deeply into both sides of the riverbank.

In some spots, water has eaten tens of metres into the land, washing away pathways and leaving no sign of once-flourishing vegetable gardens.

After his more than 7,000sq.m of beetroot were submerged, farmer Nguyễn Văn Thạch in Ka Đô hurried to his fields to secure farming equipment before they were swept away.

As he pulled out beetroot plants that had been soaked for two days, he lamented that this year’s flooding was the worst he had ever seen. In previous years, even during heavy rains, water would rise only to the roadside area along the river, still about 50 metres from his crops.

This year, however, the hydropower plant began releasing floodwater in the morning and by noon, parts of the farmland were already under as much as two metres of water, creeping into canals and streams and inundating even those cultivated areas far from the riverbank.

“Just calculating labour, investment and fertiliser costs, my family has already lost more than VNĐ100 million (about US$4,000). These beetroot cannot be salvaged after being soaked for so long. Vegetable prices are high now, but we are losing everything,” he said sadly.

Not far from Thạch’s farm, numerous patches of lagim – short-term leafy vegetables – have disappeared beneath muddy floodwaters along the Đa Nhim River.

Nearby passion fruit, aubergine and mustard green farms on slightly higher ground are also submerged up to knee level.

A greenhouse belonging to farmer Hồ Văn Tâm in Ka Đô was devastated, with water rising almost to the top of the structure.

After two days of being battered by floodwaters, Tâm and several workers waded through the receding water to remove piles of crop residue and foam rafts washed from upstream and stacked thickly inside the greenhouse.

He estimated that the flood had pushed in several dozen cubic metres of debris.

Even without counting crop losses, the cost of repairing collapsed irrigation systems and damaged greenhouse frames would still amount to millions of đồng.

“We just hope the water recedes quickly so we can rehabilitate the farm and replant as soon as possible, while prices remain high,” he added.

According to updates from Đa Nhim - Hàm Thuận - Đa Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Company, from the morning of November 17, the plant had to steadily increase its flood discharge from 300 cubic metres per second to 600 cubic metres per second due to excessive inflow from upstream into Đơn Dương Reservoir.

The controlled release, however, caused floodwater to rise rapidly downstream, submerging hundreds of hectares of crops in the communes of D’Ran, Ka Đô, Đơn Dương and Quảng Lập.

Local authorities have since mobilised forces to continuously monitor the situation, issue timely warnings, and support evacuations where necessary.

A rapid report from the Lâm Đồng Province Civil Defence Command estimated total damage from the ongoing floods at around VNĐ30 billion ($1.2 million) by the afternoon of November 18.

Agriculture accounts for the largest share of losses, with around 360 hectares of crops - mostly vegetables - inundated in D’Ran, Ka Đô, Đơn Dương, Quảng Lập and Đức Trọng.

Particularly in D’Ran Commune, located right below the Đa Nhim - Hàm Thuận - Đa Mi hydropower dam, up to 300 hectares of farmland were submerged, with estimated losses reaching VNĐ8 billion (about US$320,000).

As the weather remains unpredictable, authorities in Lâm Đồng have ordered around-the-clock monitoring and urged relevant units to inspect high-risk areas to ensure readiness for possible emergencies.

Hydropower and irrigation reservoir operators have also been requested to strictly follow approved operational procedures to protect the safety of downstream communities and minimise further flooding. — VNS