According to the Department of Irrigation, in the Northern region, the average capacity of irrigation reservoirs is currently 80 – 96% of the design capacity. Some reservoirs are operating with overflow discharge such as: Trang Vinh reservoir with a discharge flow of 20 m3/s; Yen Lap reservoir is 30 m3/s (Quang Ninh). Currently, this region also has 129 damaged and severely degraded reservoirs; 26 reservoirs are under construction.

In the North Central region, irrigation reservoirs have reached 46 – 65% of their design capacity. Ta Trach Reservoir (Thua Thien Hue) is operating with a spillway flow of 20 m3/s. This region also has 145 severely damaged and degraded reservoirs; 52 reservoirs are under construction.

With reservoirs managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cua Dat reservoir reached 57% of its design capacity; the reservoir still has 839.28 million m3 for flood storage; Ngan Truoi reservoir reached 21% of its design capacity; the reservoir still has 615.09 million m3 for flood storage; Ta Trach reservoir reached 18% of its design capacity; the reservoir still has 674.67 million m3 for flood storage.

Faced with the above situation, the Department of Irrigation has issued a document requesting the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and cities in the Northern and North Central regions; irrigation works exploitation units; project management boards to closely monitor the developments of floods and rains, forecasts from specialized agencies and instructions from competent authorities to implement plans to ensure safety and operate irrigation works to drain water to prevent flooding…

Localities review and specifically delineate crop areas at risk of flooding and waterlogging to have specific drainage plans suitable to terrain characteristics, rainfall conditions and drainage capacity.

Localities identify key projects at risk of incidents when there is heavy rain to proactively deploy plans to respond to heavy rain, ensuring the safety of the projects; pay special attention to the safety of irrigation reservoirs under construction and important irrigation reservoirs; for important irrigation reservoirs that do not ensure safety, it is necessary to consider not storing water.

Units operating reservoirs follow approved operating procedures; reservoirs with flood discharge gates must adjust the reservoir water level to proactively receive floods, ensure absolute safety of the works and not discharge floods abnormally, causing unsafety to downstream areas; at the same time, properly store water in reservoirs with low storage capacity. Localities must strictly implement early warnings to people in downstream areas before reservoirs discharge floods and when there is a risk of an incident.

Faced with the complicated developments of storm No. 3, the Department of Crop Production also requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the northern provinces and cities to concentrate machinery, equipment and people to quickly harvest rice that has reached the harvest period with the motto “green at home is better than old in the field” to limit damage caused by storms and rains.

The Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development urgently directed the drainage of buffer water on the main river system and intra-field canals; identified areas at risk of heavy rain and flash floods to have quick handling plans. The Department mobilized forces to clear the flow on drainage canals, checked and raised the banks of the areas, plot banks, and drainage canal banks to ensure quick drainage for areas at risk of flooding.

Localities have developed plans to respond to heavy rain and floods, mobilizing all means of electric and diesel pumps to force pumping combined with rapid drainage when the tide is low. Priority is given to rapid drainage for heavily flooded areas, especially localities affected by the construction of traffic works, urban areas, industrial zones on rice fields, and disrupted irrigation systems, which often cause long-term flooding when there is heavy rain.

Pests, especially outbreaks of pests such as brown planthoppers, stem borers, leaf blight… may increase after storms. Localities need to plan and forecast to have timely and effective prevention measures to minimize the impact of pests.

For vegetables, vegetable growing areas, and specialized growing areas, it is recommended that vegetable and growing areas that are ready for harvest should be quickly harvested; ditches and drainage ditches in the fields should be dredged. After the water recedes, it is necessary to clean the fields, spray foliar fertilizers, trace elements, etc. to help plants recover quickly; when the soil is dry, it is necessary to hoe and harrow promptly to create ventilation for the soil to avoid root suffocation and combine with additional phosphate and NPK fertilizers, etc. Localities should prepare enough quantity and types of vegetable seeds to be ready to replant in case heavy rains cause a shortage of vegetable supply.

For fruit trees, it is recommended to harvest early in areas that are ready for harvest; prune to allow for ventilation; dig ditches and channels to drain water to avoid localized flooding in the garden.

For vessels at sea, the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of the Fisheries Sector recommends that the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Fisheries Sub-Departments of provinces from Quang Ninh to Quang Ngai call on fishing vessels operating at sea in the affected areas of storm No. 3 to move away from the area where the storm is expected to pass, and proactively bring fishing vessels to anchor in storm shelters. Fishing vessels operating in sea areas affected by storm No. 3 and areas with bad weather must regularly contact shore stations and coastal information stations to obtain information about the weather in the area where fishing vessels are operating.

Localities are determined to evacuate people on fishing boats at anchorage areas, rafts, and aquaculture watchtowers to safety before the storm makes landfall.

The Department of Fisheries recommends that aquaculture facilities harvest aquatic products or harvest them in areas affected by rain and storms; urgently reinforce aquaculture cages to ensure safety for people and property.