The southern and Central Highlands regions of Vietnam are expected to escape drought conditions starting from the second half of this month, said a weather forecaster on Saturday.

Meanwhile, central Vietnam is predicted to become drought-free from August this year, according to Phung Tien Dung, head of the Hydrological Forecasting Department under the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Before the droughts go away, lots of provinces in the three regions, including Tien Giang, Long An, Ca Mau, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, will continue to endure saline intrusion, along with a shortfall of fresh water for daily and agricultural activities.

Residents in the affected areas are advised to utilize water resources properly and adopt drought-resilient irrigation and farming plans.

The weather forecaster also underlined the need for both authorities and local people to build and upgrade irrigation systems in their places, saying that staying proactive in irrigating vast areas of farming land could help fight against drought in the long term.

He added that afforestation and forest protection will also be beneficial in preventing and managing droughts.

Over the past months, drought conditions and the shortage of fresh water have taken a heavy toll on plenty of provinces across the country.

Three provinces in the Mekong Delta region, namely Tien Giang, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, had to declare a state of emergency over droughts, with the hardest-hit areas being Tran Van Thoi District and U Minh District in Ca Mau, as well as the buffer zone of U Minh Thuong District in Kien Giang.

In Ca Mau Province, water levels in rivers and canals in the freshwater zone of U Minh District are currently low, while most of the canals in the freshwater zone of Tran Van Thoi District have dried up.

Many parts in Tran Van Thoi also experienced drought-induced land erosion and landslides, with 601 locations along 132 canals measuring 15,890 meters long in total affected.

Similarly, land subsidence wreaked havoc on 200 locations in U Minh Thuong, damaging the road surface and causing traffic disruption.

In the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, 500 local households are facing water stress triggered by droughts.

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