According to Nguyen Lan Chau, the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting’s deputy director, the water level fell to only 1.22m on December 2. 

“It is forecasted to drop to under 1m in the next two months if water is not released from three reservoirs in Hoa Binh, Thac Ba and Tuyen Quang,” Chau said. 
With vessels beached and left idle, fishermen are suffering losses, according to the Waterway Management Company No 6’s Technical Department director Le Van Luong. 

Reports from the three reservoirs showed that Hoa Binh lacks over 1 billion cu.m of water, Tuyen Quang lacks 977 million cu.m and Thac Ba, 1.2 billion cu.m, to reach their required levels. 

According to a representative from the Irrigation Department, Dang Duy Hien, about 100,000ha of agricultural land in the northern region and 30,000ha in Hanoi may face water shortages if 500 million cubic metres of water is not supplied. 

To deal with the situation, the municipal People’s Committee has urged local authorities to develop drought prevention plans. 

The committee chairman, Nguyen The Thao has required localities to operate pumping machines at stations in the Da, Hong, Nhue and Duong rivers to store enough water in reservoirs. 

Thao stressed that farmers should actively store water from lakes, rivers, and lowland areas for their crops. He also required localities in mountain areas to set up a proper plan to supply water for people in their daily life.