The central Vietnamese province of Ninh Thuan is suffering from a serious drought which has depleted 20 local lakes during the last six months.

Phan Rang, the province’s biggest city, is considered the most arid area in the country with a yearly average rainfall of 600mm, equal to only one-seventh of the rainfall in Thua Thien-Hue, another central province.

This year, the situation worsened when the drought season began two months earlier than in previous years.

The city has barely seen a drop of rain over the last six months and its rainfall total in 2014 only reached 300mm, equivalent to the rainfall of one downpour in the central region.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said if the drought keeps raging, 35,000 people will be left with a clean water shortage.

In addition, more than 6,000 hectares of plants have been abandoned while nearly 400 cattle have died, the department added.

The numbers are expected to increase sharply since 150,000 animals are now facing a serious lack of water.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents have captured how people living in the area are dealing with the situation.

A dead fish is seen on the revealed bottom of the dried-up Suoi Lake in Phuoc Ninh Commune, Thuan Nam District, Ninh Thuan Province. Photo: Tuoi Tre

K To Nam washes his face at an underground water pit. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The Song Bieu Lake in Phuoc Ha Commune, Thuan Nam District reveals its bed with seriously low water. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Piang Thi Nhang, 21, from Ra Giua Hamlet in Phuoc Trung Commune, carries her kid while taking underground water from a dried-up spring in the locality. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A resident on the way to take water from a reserve cistern built by the local government to bring water from other areas that are not facing a water shortage. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Women and children from Ra Giua Hamlet take a bath and wash clothes at an underground water pit in the middle of a spring’s dried-up bed. The hamlet is far away from the government’s reverse cistern so people there depend on natural underground water. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A kid helps her family to bring water home when tankers carrying water from other locations arrive. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Sheep eat grass in a dry field under the sun in Bac Ai District. Many herdsmen have to take their sheep to other districts not affected by the drought, which are tens of kilometers away, for grass. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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