Authorities of An Giang Province in Mekong Delta said on Monday that erosion along the Hau River passing Vinh Truong Commune, An Phu District has become a serious issue worthy of being a "emergency situation."

Severe landslides continue to sweep away another section of National Highway No 91 in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, threatening many lives along the road.

Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent researcher on the ecosystem in the Mekong Delta talks to Nông thôn Ngày nay (Countryside Today) newspaper on the serious problem of land erosion in the region.

The annual “floating season” in Mekong Delta, when the water level is on the rise and the rivers and canals expand, takes place from the seventh to the ninth lunar month. 

Saltwater is expected to severely intrude into the Mekong Delta during the remainder of the year, instead of in March or April next year, as normal, said the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Hit by unprecedented rainfall, Phu Quoc Island off the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has faced heavy floods over the past few days because of the island's old drainage system.

Salinity and droughts will come earlier and be more severe than in the 2018-2019 dry season in the Mekong Delta, according to Hoang Phuc Lam, Vice Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The Mekong River Commission last month said the Mekong water levels during this early flood season from June to July are at historical low, wreaking havoc on hundreds of millions of inhabitants in downstream countries.

As many as 1,609 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, worth 22.3 billion USD, landed the Mekong Delta in the first half of 2019, reported the Vietnam Government Portal (VGP).

People in the Mekong Delta are worried about the absence of floods this year as the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has warned about the record 10-year low of the river’s water level.

Public hospitals in the Mekong delta are running low on doctors who have been quitting their job; accordingly, the hospitals stopped overtime examination affecting insured patients’ benefits.

The Mekong Delta will not have early or intense flooding in its upper parts this year because of the low water level in the Mekong River, according to the National Centre of Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting.

The People’s Committee of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang has declared a state of emergency due to land erosion along the Ong Chuong River in Cho Moi district.

Provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have suffered land erosion for decades, with hundreds of hectares being washed away along with many houses.

Expressing concern about the record low water level on the Mekong River, Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert on Mekong Delta ecology, has warned that the delta will be attacked by floods and saline intrusion.

The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has earmarked over a trillion of VND on the construction and upgrade of structures designed to prevent erosion along Tien and Hau riverbanks.

The Mekong Delta region enjoyed a boost in tourist arrivals in the first half of the year as a result of efforts to diversify tourism products and services.

A man has died in the Mekong Delta after being struck by lightning. 

Authorities in the Mekong Delta region are calling for water-saving as the water level in the Mekong River is record low.

Vietnam is facing an urgent need to build brands for its tra fish, a big foreign currency earner, amidst numerous challenges facing the industry.