Sand encroaches on fields after floods.

As the floodwaters recede, high sand dunes are revealed in the fields, posing a major challenge for farmers as the winter-spring crop season approaches.

The fields are dotted with sand dunes.

After the floodwaters receded, the water in the low-lying fields of Tuy Phuoc Bac commune ( Gia Lai province) gradually subsided, revealing high sand dunes – the remnants of the siltation caused by the recent flood. In particular, the fields located beneath sections of broken dikes or along the overflow embankments of the dikes that were breached by floodwaters were severely silted up.

At the Tranh River spillway, the large section connecting the two communes of Tuy Phuoc Bac and Tuy Phuoc was the first to be deeply submerged during the recent flood. The flood breached a section of the dike north of the Tranh River bridge, causing siltation in the fields of Giang Nam village (Tuy Phuoc Bac commune) covering an area of ​​approximately 5 hectares.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Trung, head of Giang Nam village, during the recent flood, the rice fields were submerged under up to 2 meters of water, a section of the embankment of the Tranh River (a branch of the Kon River) broke, and the floodwaters carried sand from the Tranh River into the Chieu rice fields, causing siltation.

Mr. Tran Quang Trung, head of Giang Nam village (Tuy Phuoc Bac commune, Gia Lai province), points to the rice fields that were silted up after the recent severe floods. Photo: V.D.T.

"Before starting the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop, the village must request the Commune People's Committee to provide support with machinery and the villagers to excavate and dredge the silted sand to restore the land to its original state so that the people can cultivate," shared Mr. Tran Quang Trung.

Similarly, the embankment in Tu Thuy village (Tuy Phuoc Bac commune) was breached by the raging floodwaters during the recent flood, with a section approximately 15 meters long and 4 meters deep. Floodwater from the Thanh Hoa River (a branch of the Kon River) poured into the fields of Tu Thuy village. Immediately after the floodwaters receded, the Tuy Phuoc Bac commune People's Committee mobilized local forces and residents to temporarily repair the breached section of the embankment in preparation for the winter-spring crop production.

"This embankment has a section on the west side that is breached in the middle of the dike. The commune mobilized all its resources to repair it before the flood occurred, so it was not affected by this historic flood," said Nguyen Quang Vinh, Head of the Economic Department of Tuy Phuoc Bac commune.

According to Mr. Ho Ngoc Dung, Director of Phuoc Son Agricultural Cooperative (Tuy Phuoc Dong commune), Tuy Phuoc Dong commune was the last place where the floodwaters receded. Currently, the fields are still vast and covered with water, so it's impossible to see any areas damaged by the flood; however, with the recent historic flood, it's certain that many of the cooperative's 1,184 hectares of rice production area would have been damaged by siltation.

Officials from the Economic Department of Tuy Phuoc Bac commune, in coordination with local authorities, waded through floodwaters to inspect the damage caused by siltation following the recent severe floods. Photo: V.D.T.

Irrigation canals in the fields are in the same predicament.

According to Mr. Le Anh Duy, Vice Chairman of the Tuy Phuoc Bac Commune People's Committee, even though the river dikes have been reinforced, if floodwaters overflow the dikes, it will still cause siltation.

Or, like the banks of Cay But and Dam Dong, even though they have been concreted, they still cannot withstand the fierce floods. The split stones on both sides of the banks are crumbling and deteriorating in Luong Quang and Van Quang villages. Currently, Tuy Phuoc Bac commune has used bags filled with soil and sand, and driven bamboo stakes to temporarily reinforce them.

Furthermore, according to Mr. Vinh, the entire network of irrigation canals in Tuy Phuoc Bac commune was silted up during the recent floods. In particular, the area of ​​Phuoc Hung commune (formerly) has nearly 109km of irrigation canals, including: nearly 20km of canals wider than 1m; nearly 40km of canals between 0.5-1m wide; and over 36,000km of canals less than 1m wide.

Tuy Phuoc Bac commune is using machinery to repair silted-up irrigation canals in the fields to ensure water supply is ready for the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop. Photo: V.D.T.

The area of ​​the former Phuoc Quang commune has over 48km of irrigation canals; of which nearly 31km have been reinforced, and more than 17km are earthen canals. The area of ​​the former Phuoc Hiep commune has 135km of irrigation canals; of which 35km have been concreted, and the remaining 100km are earthen canals.

“During this flood, the most significant siltation occurred in Dinh Thien Dong village with a very large amount of sand and soil. The entire 292km of irrigation canals in Tuy Phuoc Bac commune were also silted up with over 1,000 cubic meters of sand and soil. Currently, the commune People's Committee has directed agricultural cooperatives in the area to urgently organize dredging to ensure timely irrigation water for the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop,” said Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/cat-lan-dong-sau-lu-d786991.html