Unusually warm weather since January has left thousands of families along the Hieu River and Quy Chau District, Nghe An, under the threat of serious drought.
 |
| Panning for gold has polluted and dried out the river (Photo by Song Hieu) |
People living at Chau Hanh, Chau Hoi, Chau Binh Communes are also suffering from drought dangers because most wells, ponds, and lakes in the area have dried out. Moreover, the Hieu River is drying out and is polluted due to gold panning activities in the river.
Intensive gold searching in the river has made it so muddy that people cannot use the water. Thousands of families in the area used to use water from this river during dry seasons when there was no gold searching activity.
The problem isn't just effecting people in the Quy Chau Mountainous District, but also in other districts such as Quy Hop, Nghia Dan, and Que Phong.
People here are being told to request help from local authorities under urgent circumstances.
Le Ba, a person living near Hieu River, Quy Chau District shared his worries saying that the situation had never before occurred. After Tet, we could not use water from the Hieu River because it became too muddy. He doesn't know how they will get enough water if the gold searching activities continue.
