Nghe An farmers race to cope with the possibility of heavy rain due to storm Ragasa

With the news that super typhoon Ragasa, with a level 17 gust, is about to make landfall, causing widespread heavy rain, Nghe An farmers are entering an urgent "race": Some are busy harvesting agricultural products, others are reinforcing aquaculture, and building irrigation systems to prevent flooding. All are in the same mindset of "bracing" themselves against the harsh challenges of natural disasters.

Busy harvesting, racing every hour with storms and rain

Mon Son farmers rush to harvest rice to avoid the storm. Photo: TP

Since the morning of September 23, when meteorological forecasts said that storm Ragasa was approaching, with the risk of causing prolonged heavy rain in the North, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An , many farmers in the province have simultaneously gone to the fields, taking advantage of every hour to harvest agricultural products.

In Mon Son commune (Con Cuong), 782 hectares of summer-autumn rice are at the peak of harvest. Mr. Ngan Van Truong, Head of the Commune Economic Department, said: "Up to now, the whole commune has harvested about 85 - 90%. The late-ripening rice fields, due to lack of water for production, are now about 80% ripe, so the authorities are advising people to harvest immediately, not letting the rainwater flood and cause damage."

Farmer Quynh Mai ties up her bean field on the trellis. Photo: TP

In the low-lying fields in Anh Son Dong commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Bieu's family and neighbors hurriedly rented harvesters. With the rice fields that had fallen, people had to mobilize more manpower to harvest by hand. The fresh rice after harvesting was purchased by traders right in the fields. Mr. Bieu shared: "This year's crop was bad, a lot of rice was broken due to previous storms and floods, plus the risk of heavy rain. The price of rice was cheap but we still had to sell it right away, because if we were late and there was heavy rain, the seeds would germinate and be ruined."

Not only rice, farmers in vegetable growing areas are also racing against the storm. In Quynh Anh commune and Quynh Mai ward, people are busy harvesting vegetables, eggplants, and green onions; people are urgently tying up and securing the trellises of chayote and squash...

Harvesting coffee beans in a hurry before heavy rain. Photo: TP

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Lien Hai block, Quynh Mai ward, was tying the squash trellis while worried: "Hearing the news of the storm coming, causing heavy rain, the whole vegetable growing village like us is worried. Vegetables are the main source of income, now the rain and storm are coming, many areas that have just started growing have had to be moved to higher ground. Loss of crops is inevitable."

In the eggplant field, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan is busy harvesting early to sell "to avoid the storm". The current price of eggplant is 16,000 VND/kg, higher than before. However, Mrs. Lan is not very excited: "I am happy, but the vegetable area this year has decreased a lot due to consecutive natural disasters, so the output is not as good as before."

Farmers in Vinh Phu ward clear water hyacinth and clear the flow to avoid flooding during heavy rains. Photo: TP

At the same time, households producing in greenhouses and net houses are also struggling to cope. In Van An, Kim Lien, Dai Hue or Than Linh, Nghi Loc communes, many gardeners have tied down and reinforced their structures. Mr. Nguyen Van Long (Nghi Loc commune) said: "In the first crop of August, we just harvested 6 tons of melons, and now there are about 10 tons waiting to be harvested in a week. I just hope the storm does not come with strong winds, if it only rains, I will be less worried."

Not only the fields, Vinh Phu flower and ornamental plant village also learned from the heavy damage caused by storm No. 5. In recent days, the Ward Farmers' Association has mobilized people to salvage duckweed and clear canals to prevent local flooding. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Le, Chairwoman of the Ward Farmers' Association, said: "The drainage system has been cleared, and at the same time, people are advised to prepare soil bags and pumps to avoid a recurrence of flooding like the previous time."

Reinforcement of aquaculture ponds

Reinforce the roof and pillars to protect the pond. Photo: TP

Nghe An's aquaculture industry is also facing heavy pressure as storm Ragasa is forecast to cause 100-250mm of rain, with some places experiencing over 400mm.

In coastal shrimp farming areas, the work of reinforcing and bracing ponds and net houses has been urgently deployed. Mr. Nguyen Hong Cuong - Director of Hai Tuan Shrimp Company (Quynh Mai Ward) said: "The unit currently has more than 20 net houses for shrimp and snail farming. Before the storm, we reinforced the embankment, stretched nets, and temporarily removed canvas in some places to avoid the wind. At the same time, we stocked up on food and generators, ready to deal with widespread power outages."

Tan Mai farmers reinforce the dike for aquaculture. Photo: TP

Not only large enterprises, many small shrimp farmers are also urgently consolidating their ponds. Mr. Phan Bon (Tan Mai ward) and his family have reinforced the embankment, prepared drainage pumps, and are working while waiting for each weather report. He said: "I just hope that the weather will be kind and the storm will pass gently. All the effort and capital have been put into this shrimp crop. If it is flooded, the damage will be unbearable."

Nghe An's aquaculture industry has also issued recommendations: Farmers need to closely monitor the situation, not feed too much before storms to reduce pond pollution; at the same time, prepare plans to relocate and release water when water levels rise.

In fact, the damage from storm No. 5 has not yet been completely repaired, and now people have to brace themselves for super storm Ragasa. In many farming areas, farmers are still trying to pull nets and collect seafood of commercial size to reduce damage.

Check the drainage system for the lined pond. Photo: TP

While the authorities continue to closely monitor the storm’s developments and issue timely warnings, in the fields and ponds, each farmer is still racing against time. They understand that each hour of urgency today will reduce some of the losses tomorrow. And in this unequal battle with nature, human will is still the most precious thing.

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/nong-dan-nghe-an-chay-dua-ung-pho-voi-kha-nang-mua-lon-do-bao-ragasa-10306954.html