Heavy rain lasted for many hours, the dragon fruit capital of Long An province was flooded.

"From the afternoon to the evening of June 21, the rain started to fall heavily and continued for many hours throughout Chau Thanh district. Dragon fruit growers were all worried. When they got there, they saw that the water level had risen to 0.5m in many places. Looking around, the entire area was flooded. How can we pump out the water to save the dragon fruit that is bearing fruit?", Mr. Nguyen Van Hong (67 years old, residing in Vinh Cong commune, Chau Thanh district) informed on the morning of June 23.

Nearly 30 hectares of dragon fruit garden adjacent to Hiep Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district is submerged in water. Photo: Thien Long

According to Mr. Pham Quoc Phuong (44 years old, residing in Hamlet 5, Hiep Thanh Commune, Chau Thanh District), it started to rain heavily around 4 p.m. and continued for more than 20 hours (4 hours) until June 22 before stopping. Since the beginning of the season, including a few years ago, this is the record rain that people in the dragon fruit capital Chau Thanh have received.

Dragon fruit garden caught heavy rain and was flooded. Photo: Thien Long

"The dragon fruit was bearing fruit, and the family knew the entire garden would be submerged in water, so as soon as the rain stopped, everyone ran out to see and shook their heads in dismay. We have a pump at home, so without delay, I pumped it day and night, but it only reduced the water level and did not dry up," said Mr. Phuong.

The family of Mr. Le Tan Hong (67 years old, living in Binh An hamlet, Hiep Thanh commune) has a dragon fruit garden of nearly 1 hectare and shares the same fate. In some places, the water rose 0.5m above the dragon fruit poles. Because the water could not be discharged into the canal, the entire tree had to be submerged in water and the fruit on the branches had to be cut off.

The garden owner brought a pump to pump water into the canal because the dragon fruit was bearing large fruit. Photo: Thien Long

Mr. Pham Quoc An (50 years old, living in Binh An hamlet, Hiep Thanh commune) said that such heavy rains combined with high tides caused the water in the garden to be unable to drain out into the canal. The dragon fruit roots would be damaged. However, the biggest damage is that many orchards that are about to be harvested may be affected and unable to be harvested.

Even though the dragon fruit roots are flooded, the garden owner still goes out to take care of the fruit on the branches. Photo: Thien Long

"Up to now, on the third day, the water is still so immense, when will it dry up? Some communes Vinh Cong, Hiep Thanh, Phu Ngai Tri, Binh Quoi have hundreds of hectares heavily affected by the rain two days ago. If the three sluices Ky Son, Cau Vam and Binh Tam are opened, the water can drain out, currently farmers are sitting on fire", Mr. Hong shared.

On the same afternoon, the Head of the Long An Rural Development and Irrigation Department, Vo Kim Thuan, said he had just received information reflecting that heavy rainwater had caused flooding of dragon fruit in some communes of Chau Thanh district. He would request the direct management unit to inspect, then open the sluice to release water when the river tide was low.

"I will direct it to be done immediately so as not to affect the gardeners," Mr. Thuan affirmed.

Present in Binh An hamlet, Hiep Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district, we met and talked with many farmers, and learned that from this morning until this afternoon, the water level in the dragon fruit gardens has decreased. There will be less rain in the next few days, and the new ditches will dry up, so we request Long An authorities to continue opening 3 sluices to release water when the tide is low.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mua-lon-keo-dai-nhieu-gio-thu-phu-thanh-long-cua-tinh-long-an-bi-ngap-trang-xoa-20240623144023844.htm