Heavy rain due to storm No. 10, Nghe An vegetables are heavily flooded

The province's largest vegetable farm is deeply submerged in water.

From the evening of September 26 to the morning of September 27, heavy rains caused dozens of hectares of vegetables in Quynh Mai ward and Quynh Anh commune to be submerged in water. This is considered the largest "vegetable granary" of Nghe An, supplying green vegetables all year round to the whole province. After storm No. 5, people have just recovered somewhat, but now vegetables are at risk of being damaged en masse.

Mr. Ho Dang Tam - Head of Quynh Bang Agricultural Cooperative, Quynh Anh Commune, worried: "This rain was too sudden and heavy. Many areas of sweet cabbage, onions, kohlrabi, carrots, etc. of the people were flooded, eroded, and broken. The areas of newly sown vegetables, which had just taken root, are now almost all damaged. Even vegetables that recovered after the previous storm are having difficulty surviving."

Unable to hide his impatience, Mr. Tran Van Xuan in Quynh Mai ward said that his family sowed 3 sao of onions. Although it was not yet ripe, he had to mobilize workers to harvest early. "If we leave it a few more days, the onions will definitely spoil. Harvesting early will reduce productivity, but fortunately, onion prices are high, so we can salvage some of it."

In the fields of Quynh Mai ward, groups of farmers wearing raincoats waded into the fields to harvest onions and vegetables. Mixed with the sound of pouring rain was the sound of water pumps working continuously to save the vegetables. Mr. Nguyen Canh Tuy - Vice Chairman of the Ward Farmers' Association said: "The heaviest damage was to chayote, kohlrabi, carrots, many planted areas were damaged before they could take root. The Association is mobilizing people to quickly harvest and focus on dredging and clearing ditches to save the remaining areas."

According to preliminary statistics, by the morning of September 27, hundreds of hectares of vegetables had been flooded in the whole province. Some areas, although not completely dead, were crushed, with a very low chance of recovery. It is worth mentioning that winter vegetables, which were considered a "salvation" for farmers after the damage caused by storm No. 5, have now been severely affected, making people's psychology even heavier.

Risk of affecting vegetable supply in the market

In many other localities in the province, many vegetable areas of the people are in a similar situation. In Vinh Hung ward, many vegetable areas are also submerged in water. Mr. Nguyen Van Quy, a long-time vegetable grower, sadly said: "I just planted 2 sao of sprouts and mustard greens, now they are all submerged. The young vegetables are soft, the rain poured continuously all night so the water did not have time to recede, everything was crushed. We can only hope for the weather to clear up soon, for the storm to not come, then maybe we can recover."

Many areas in Dai Hue and Lam Thanh communes, which have just planted winter vegetables, are also threatened by heavy rain. Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh, Dai Dong hamlet, Van An commune, said: "People have proactively dredged canals and done irrigation before planting, so the waterlogging is temporarily under control. But if the heavy rain continues, the risk of total loss is very high."

According to the agricultural sector, prolonged heavy rains are threatening hundreds of hectares of winter vegetables across the province. Newly sown areas are susceptible to erosion and seed washout; areas in the rooting stage are prone to root rot and leaf waterlogging. Even mature vegetable fields are damaged, with yields plummeting.

Damage to winter vegetables will directly affect the market supply at the end of the year and during the Lunar New Year. Green vegetables are easily damaged, while this is the most important crop of the year. If the flooding continues, the supply will certainly be interrupted, and the price of green vegetables may increase.

At wholesale markets, traders are also starting to worry as the supply of green vegetables is becoming scarce. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, a trader at Vinh market, shared: "If the rain continues, many vegetables in the province will be damaged, forcing us to import them from other places, with high costs, and prices will certainly increase sharply."

Meanwhile, farmers are worried about not having enough goods to supply the market during Tet. For them, the winter vegetable crop is not only of economic significance but also a hope to recover from the failed harvests caused by storms. However, extreme weather and interrupted production have caused farmers many difficulties.

Currently, localities are concentrating forces and pumps to drain waterlogged vegetables; at the same time, people are advised to urgently harvest the areas that have reached the harvest season, reinforce the banks, dredge canals, and prevent the risk of continued flooding. However, these measures are only for damage reduction and immediate response...