HANOI, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Total rainfall in southern
provinces of Vietnam has lately been between 30-40 percent lower
than the past years' average, resulting in a widespread drought
and making life and production difficult in the region, according
to a report of Vietnam's official news agency VNA on Monday.
   Several thousand hectares (ha) of coffee, pepper, cashew nuts
and rice have fallen prey to soaring temperatures and the lowest
level of rainfall in recent months.
   In the southern province of Kien Giang, the drought ruined
about 3,000 ha of rice and reduced the yield of 6,000 other ha.
Meanwhile, nearly 100 ha of cotton in the province is threatened
to be seared by the dry weather.
   Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands was the hardest-hit
province with coffee crop failure likely to occur in the 2002-2003
season.
   The drought also hit Dac Lac province in the central highlands,
damaging around 4,000 ha of rice.
   Worse still, wide-spread drought has seared forests in the
southern region. About 50 forest fires have occurred in the region
so far this year, 1.5 times the number occurring in the same
period last year, damaging 400 ha of forests, preliminary
statistics showed.
   According to the National Hydro-Meterology Center, dry
southwest winds and the cold spell which hit the southern region
and the Central Highlands from September 2001 resulted in
prolonged drought.
   To ease the situation, localities have taken drastic measures
to overcome droughts. Many small irrigation works have been built
or upgraded to help agricultural production.  Enditem