Flooding is not necessarily a bad thing. For farmers in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, having their rice fields flooded after a long drought is more than good news.

Thousands of farmers who earn a living by catching seafood in An Giang and Dong Thap Provinces are happy to see the floods back, as they bring along new sources of marine life.

Local residents said there was no flooding this time last year, and they had started to worry that the situation would be no better this year.

However, to their surprise, the water levels started to rise around a month ago, with floodwaters overflowing into paddy fields.

The flooding spells good news for Mekong Delta farmers as it brings fish, crabs, shrimp and other aquatic animals from upstream, which all become lucrative sources of income.

This year’s flooding was the icing on the cake as it comes after the region was hit by a severe drought.

In rice fields across An Giang and Dong Thap these days, people are spotted busily catching seafood, and local markets have also experienced more lively trading.

Tran Ngoc Bich, a farmer in An Giang, said local residents had received poor yields from growing rice in the last few years, so they all looked forward to the flood season when they could draw an income from catching fish and shrimp.

“Now that the rice fields are flooded and full of seafood, we are all excited,” she told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper while selling her newly caught fish at a local market.

Below are some photos of the current flood season in the Mekong Delta taken by Tuoi Tre.

Locals bring their newly caught seafood to sell at makeshift markets along the street.

At a makeshift seafood market in Dong Thap

A boy removes newly caught fish from a net.

Fishermen during a net-fishing trip in An Giang.

Two boys help their parents classify newly caught crabs in An Giang.

A man wears a big smile after a big haul of fish in An Giang.

The flooding also provides an abundant source of food for the this man’s flock of ducks in An Giang.

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