A farmer with rice plants that died due to drought in M’Drắk District, the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk. — Photo vov.vn

ĐẮK LẮK — Over recent months, more than 1,000ha of plants of crops have withered and died due to a serious drought in M’Drắk District, the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk.

The Ea Pal reservoir, which has a capacity of more than 410,000cu.m and supplies the water for 80ha of rice fields in Krông Jing Commune and M’Drắk Town, is 90 per cent empty.

Phạm Văn Hóa, a local resident, said he could not find any water despite living very close to the reservoir.

The losses to his farms were estimated at more than VNĐ35 million (US$1,500).

Besides agricultural damages, residents' daily lives are also heavily affected by the water scarcity.

Phan Thị Thành from Cư M’ta Commune said that during the past three months, her family has had to buy canned water for daily use.

She has spent VNĐ20,000 ($0.86) per day on water. She considered having a well drilled, but realised she could not afford it since it would cost about VNĐ40 million ($1,700), not a small number by any mean.

Nguyễn Thế Thập, head of the M’Drắk District Agriculture and Rural Development Division, said most of the reservoirs in the district have dried up.

More than 1,000 households in the district are in dire need of water.

The division will ask for support from the provincial People’s Committee to repair the reservoirs to increase their capacity.

The division will help local residents buy and plant small crops for the coming season, and give guidance to them on how to cultivate varieties that can adapt to climate change, said Thập. — VNS