An ongoing drought in Vietnam has caused water shortage for nearly 300,000 hectares of crops and over 500,000 local residents nationwide, local newspaper Pioneer reported Tuesday.
Out of 262,700 hectares of crops affected by the drought, 142, 300 hectares, mainly rice, maize, sugarcane, cotton and coffee, have already been destroyed. Over 500,000 people now lack water for domestic use, while around 44,000 others suffer from hunger.
The drought is predicted to last in the coming weeks, causing total losses of more than 5 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$318.5 million).