The Buddha's hand orchards in the outlying district of Dan Phuong, located by the Red River, faced prolonged historic inundation. Tens of thousands of Buddha's hand trees have been struck, affecting hundreds of growers.
According to people from Hong Ha and Lien Ha communes in Dan Phuong, many Buddha’s hand gardens were put 4-5 metres under water on September 11-12 when floodwaters on the Red River reached peak.
Ta Hong Linh, 43, from Hong Ha Commune, stated that the water level rose sharply, submerging not only his family’s Buddha's hand orchard but also the tent beside it. This has resulted in a loss of VND500 million (USD20,408) for his family.
Some households have even been left empty-handed as their Buddha's hand orchard was completely destroyed.
Over the past week, locals have been trying to save the Buddha's Hand trees that still have some green leaves left, but there is little hope, as they have been flooded for so long.
Most of these trees are two years old and were expected to serve the Tet Lunar New Year of 2025.
The households planting Buddha's hand trees in Dan Phuong mainly come from Dac So Commune in Hanoi’s Hoai Duc District. Ta Minh Long from Dac So said that his family’s Buddha’s hand garden was hard hit, bringing about a total loss of VND1.1 billion.
Two-year-old Buddha's hand trees are often sold for VND1.5-1.8 million each, depending on factors such as the fruit, trunk and canopy.
As many as 245 households in Dac So have rented land to cultivate Buddha's hand trees in Dan Phuong. Approximately 300 hectares of these trees have been damaged by Typhoon Yagi with a total loss of VND250 billion.