Joint efforts on protecting production areas

Almost all the dykes in the Dong Thap Muoi communes of the province must be reinforced to protect the production area

“Losing appetite and sleep” because of the flood

For nearly a week, Mr. Huynh Van Hat (living in Vinh Thanh commune) has “lost his appetite and sleep” because more than 200 of his nearly 3-year-old durian trees died due to the rapid floodwaters. The sudden increase in floodwaters in just 2 days has submerged all the efforts, sweat and property of his family. Mr. Hat said, “My family invested about 4 million VND/tree in this durian garden. Previously, I sold nearly 3,000 square meters of land to grow durian, invested all my savings in the garden, and only had 1.5 years left to bear fruit, but now it has all been lost, there is no hope! The durian trees will die if submerged in water for 2 days; there is no way to save them. There is no dike around the garden, so the flood came suddenly, and it was impossible to build a dike to prevent the flood in time.”

The 4.5ha jackfruit garden with 3,000 trees of Mr. Bui Quang Thanh's family (Vinh Chau commune) was 2/3 submerged in water

Similar to Mr. Hat, the 4.5ha jackfruit garden with 3,000 trees of Mr. Bui Quang Thanh's family (Vinh Chau commune) was also 2/3 submerged in water. Faced with this situation, he hired an excavator and workers and bought materials to reinforce. However, the complicated flood situation combined with the local rain made saving the jackfruit garden hopeless. Mr. Thanh said: “The jackfruit is now 18 months old and ready to bear fruit. The total investment cost for this jackfruit garden is nearly 3 billion VND. Before planting jackfruit, I also consulted with the people around me and built a high mound, but this year the floodwaters came quickly, combined with rain and high tides, and broke the dikes around the jackfruit garden. The family spent nearly 300 million VND to reinforce the dike and save the jackfruit garden, but it was no use; the water still did not recede. If the dike could be built and the water pumped out, it would only save 50%, but it would take nearly a year for the trees to recover.”

In the early morning of October 14, 2025, a section of the Hau Phuoc Xuyen canal dike, Xom Moi hamlet, Vinh Chau commune, broke. Initially, the broken section was only broken about 2m, but due to high water and strong flow, it continued to spread to nearly 7m. As soon as hearing the news, the commune mobilized forces to protect the 240ha Autumn-Winter rice production area. By nearly 10am, the broken dike section was basically repaired, and people continued to pump water out to save the rice. However, nearly 5,000 m² of rice was completely lost and could not be recovered.

Right at the dike break, 5,000 m² of rice was lost

Mr. Vo Van Rua (Xom Moi hamlet, Vinh Chau commune) said, “In the past few days, farmers have been afraid of the dike breaking. The other day, the dike broke once; the local government and people worked together to fix it, so the damage was not much. The dike broke right in my field, so half of the rice was completely damaged and the other half was nearly 50% damaged. Now there are still many sections on the dike at risk of breaking, and everyone here is worried because we have invested 10-12 million VND in 1 hectare of rice.”

Community responsibility

Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Minh Lam (second from left) inspects the flood situation in Nhon Hoa Lap commune

According to the report, Vinh Thanh commune currently has 28.5 hectares flooded, of which 18.5ha are completely lost and 10ha are damaged by 50-60%. Particularly, in terms of fruit trees, 8ha are flooded, of which 5.7ha are completely lost (2.6ha of 2-year-old durian, 2ha of 4-year-old coconut, 1.1ha of 4-year-old jackfruit, and 2.3ha of 1-year-old durian are damaged by 40-50%. The total estimated damage to 2-year-old durian is about 450 million VND/ha; 4-year-old coconut is about 180-200 million VND/ha; 4-year-old jackfruit is about 120-150 million VND/ha; 85-day-old rice is about 20-25 million VND/ha; 35-day-old rice is about 10-17 million VND/ha. Head of the Economic Department of Vinh Thanh Commune, Ngan Van Giang, said, "In recent days, the commune has mobilized forces to help people harvest rice, and at the same time mobilized people to follow the motto "State and People work together", with the determination to minimize damage. Regarding the rice areas ready to be harvested, the commune mobilizes people to harvest early and avoid floods to avoid damage. In addition, the commune regularly updates the water level situation and sends forces to patrol and control to have timely handling measures when incidents occur."

People reinforce the dike themselves to protect the production area

At the dike line surrounding the Ca Gua canal to the Ten Lua 1 canal in Tuyen Binh commune, the total sowing area is nearly 400ha. Currently, the rice is about 60 days old. All of this area is sown outside the recommended schedule of the professional sector. Before sowing, people contributed 1 million VND/ha to reinforce some sections of the dike. However, this year's flood situation is complicated, much higher than the same period last year, the amount of money people contributed is not enough compared to the actual needs. In this situation, people continued to contribute 1 million VND; at the same time, the commune allocated funds to both reinforce and build 2 temporary dams to protect the production area. Mr. Nguyen Van Voi (residing in Tuyen Binh commune) shared: "A few years ago, many surrounding areas sowed the third crop with a profit of about 25 million VND/ha, so people in this dike line decided to sow but did not expect the flood to be so high this year. Luckily, the commune always joins hands with people to protect the production area."

According to records of professional sectors, on October 14, 2025, the water level in the lower reaches of the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong rivers decreased with the high tide. In particular, the Ben Da and Dong Thap Muoi areas continue to rise due to water inflow and local rain. It is forecasted that on October 23 and 24, 2025, the water level will reach its peak. Hopefully, with the participation of all levels, sectors and the shared responsibility of the people, Tay Ninh will be able to protect the production area and minimize property damage./.

By Le Ngoc—Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/tap-trung-toan-luc-bao-ve-vung-san-xuat-a204562.html