Off-season floods take heavy toll on crops in central Vietnam’s flood-prone district

Torrential rains from Wutip, the first storm to strike the East Vietnam Sea this year, over the past few days have caused floodwaters to rush downstream, submerging large areas of farmland in Dai Loc, a flooding hotspot in Quang Nam.

As floodwaters receded, fields along the Vu Gia River near Provincial Road 609 in Dai Loc’s Dai Lanh Commune are left in ruins.

Corn stalks nearly one meter tall are flattened, while green bean and sesame fields are submerged in sludge.

Watermelon patches, some already bearing fruit, were swept away or left rotting in the mud.

Nguyen Van Tai, 54, a farmer in Dai Lanh, said the June 12 flood submerged nearly all local croplands.

“We’ve never seen flooding in June, in the middle of summer,” he said.

“The damage is devastating. Many have lost everything.”

Even though the water has drained away, many farmers have yet to return to their fields, too disheartened to begin cleanup as most of their hard-earned crops have been destroyed.

Initial reports from Dai Loc District show that more than 725 houses in communes such as Dai Hung, Dai Lanh, Dai Son, and Dai Hong were flooded under one meter of water.

Around 4,000 hectares of rice fields and 140 hectares of other crops, including corn, vegetables, and legumes, were damaged.

According to Quang Nam’s committee for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue, the total area of flood-hit crops exceeded 16,700 hectares, including approximately 15,800 hectares of submerged rice fields.

Floodwaters also swept away a section of the old Ha Tan Bridge in Dai Lanh.

Although a new bridge has been built nearby, many locals still rely on the older structure for daily travel.

Residents living near Ha Tan Market in Dai Lanh’s Tan An Hamlet elaborated that floodwaters rose to nearly two meters inside their homes, leaving behind thick layers of mud in houses and shops as water levels subsided.