Thousands of hectares of rice were flooded.

Taking advantage of the moment the rain had just stopped, Mr. Nguyen Van Dao (Hoang Long hamlet, Truong Yen commune, Hoa Lu district) went to the field with the hope that the 5 sao of rice he had just planted was still safe, but unexpectedly, the rice was completely submerged. He said that his family had just rented a machine to plant 5 sao of rice yesterday, but today it rained heavily, causing flooding, and some seedlings had floated up. He intended to use a hoe to drain the water from the field into the ditch, but the entire ditch was also submerged and could not drain the water. Now he is just anxiously waiting for the rain to stop, the pumping station to operate smoothly so that the water can be drained soon, saving his family's rice area.

According to information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Lu district, up to this point, the whole district has planted 1,634/2,360 hectares of Summer-Autumn rice, of which the direct sowing area accounts for nearly 70%. These are areas that are very susceptible to flooding, especially in deep-lying fields where drainage is not proactive. On July 15, the whole district had 446 hectares of flooded rice, and on July 16, this number continued to increase to about more than 500 hectares.

Currently, it is the peak season for planting Summer-Autumn rice, so not only Hoa Lu district but also many rice areas in other localities in the province are affected by heavy rain. A quick summary from the Irrigation Sub-Department, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, on July 16, recorded about 2,000 hectares of rice flooded, deep water. Of which, the area of ​​​​white water is 1,550 hectares, the area of ​​​​light water is 285 hectares, the remaining area is 2/3 of the plants or more flooded. Concentrated mainly in Gia Vien, Hoa Lu, Yen Khanh, Kim Son districts.

Mr. Bui Huu Ngoc, Director of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, warned that the Summer-Autumn crop often has heavy rains, and the agricultural sector has advised farmers not to use the sowing method. At the same time, it is recommended that only high fields, fully active irrigation and drainage, and compact areas should be sown. However, due to customs and labor shortages, the sown area in the whole province still accounts for a high proportion. This will significantly affect production. With newly sown rice areas, the roots have not yet had time to adhere to the soil, and when encountering the recent heavy rains, the seedlings will certainly be washed away and have to be re-sown.

For areas that have been sown for about a week, if the waterlogging is drained in time, the rice plants can still recover and grow normally, but if after this rain there is strong sunshine and high temperatures, the rice plants can easily die. Therefore, the top priority now is to quickly drain the waterlogging, then continue to monitor to have appropriate treatment measures, which can be re-sowing, thinning and combining appropriate fertilization measures.

Maximize operation of drainage works

Faced with heavy rain threatening production, in recent days, localities and KTCTTL One Member Co., Ltd. have actively implemented many measures to drain water and save newly planted rice.

At Bach Cu Pumping Station, which is responsible for draining water for agricultural production and large urban areas in Ninh Khang, Ninh My, Ninh Giang communes (Hoa Lu district), Ninh Khanh and Dong Thanh wards (Ninh Binh city), 12/12 pumps are operating at full capacity, draining 48 thousand cubic meters of water per hour. Mr. Dinh Khanh Chieu, Station Manager of Bach Cu Pumping Station, said: 100% of the station's staff are on duty to perform their duties. Regularly check and monitor the voltage and heat dissipation of the pump motor; remove duckweed, trash, and obstacles in front of the screen doors to prevent blockages. Ensure the pumps operate smoothly, effectively, and drain water to the maximum.

Mr. Pham Sy Tuan, Head of the Hoa Lu District KTCTTL Branch, informed: As soon as farmers started planting the Summer-Autumn rice crop, the unit directed the drainage of buffer water to cope with the possibility of heavy rain. The system's pumping stations have been operating sporadically since July 6, and have been operating at full capacity since July 14. Currently, the Branch maintains a 24/7 duty mode, making the most of opening drainage sluices according to the tide and operating drainage pumping stations in each region, each day; instructing communes and cooperatives to proactively pump and drain using field pumping stations and diesel engines in deep, low-lying, and heavily flooded areas.

To proactively respond to heavy rains and protect production, on July 15, the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue of Hoa Lu district also issued a document directing departments, branches, communes and towns in the area. It emphasized the requirement that agricultural cooperatives must closely coordinate with the district KTCTTL Branch to focus on and proactively implement flood control plans; organize water drainage to ensure safety for newly planted rice areas. For areas that have not been planted, notify people to stop planting and proactively arrange spare seeds and seedlings for additional planting in damaged areas.

In the whole province, the Irrigation Department said: The whole province is operating 148 pumps at 45 pumping stations and opening 54 sluices on the dike to drain water and save rice. Many rice fields have been drained quickly so far.

However, according to the forecast of the Ninh Binh Provincial Hydrometeorological Station, due to the influence of the northern edge of the tropical convergence zone with an axis through the Central Central region connecting with the tropical depression in the central East Sea area with a tendency to gradually lift its axis to the North, combined with strong high-altitude wind convergence, Ninh Binh province will continue to have moderate rain, heavy rain, and locally very heavy rain until the morning of July 18. The common rainfall in districts and cities is from 50 -120mm.

Therefore, in the coming days, the agricultural sector, localities, and irrigation works operators must regularly update weather and hydrological developments to promptly take measures to deal with unusual developments. Strengthen direction, inspection, assessment and overcoming the consequences of flooding, determined to complete the Summer-Autumn rice planting plan.

Nguyen Luu-Minh Duong