THANH HOÁ — Heavy downpour has flooded some 150ha of paddy fields in the northern central province of Thanh Hoá.

According to the information released by the provincial Department of Agricultural and Rural Development on Monday, rains and thunderstorms with tornadoes occurred in many localities between May 5 and 8, causing serious economic losses. A large area of rice fields has been submerged under water, especially in Thọ Xuân District.

Local residents told Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper on Monday that after a week of flooding, 150ha of paddy fields were completely destroyed.

Trịnh Như Vẻ of Thành Sơn ward in Xuân Sơn commune said his family had planted 4,250sq.m. of rice this season. But just when the rice had started growing, heavy downpour damaged it all.

“Our family depends on rice cultivation. Moreover, we can only grow rice in one season every year. I do not know how we will live in the days to come,” he said.

In Hợp Lý Commune in Triệu Sơn District, more than 40ha of paddy fields were flooded.

Nguyễn Văn Tuyến, deputy head of the commune, said heavy rains and water flowing from the upstream obstructed the drainage in the fields as they were located in low-lying areas along Hoàng River.

“We are calculating the damage and have asked the district authorities to support people in restoring the production,” he said.

Lê Đức Dũng, deputy head of Xuân Sơn Commune People’s Committee, attributed the flood to a damaged irrigation system.

“While the riverbed has not been dredged for a long time, the impaired drainage system made the waterlogging more severe. We have asked the province and district authorities to implement urgent solutions to solve the problem,” he said. — VNS