Southern reservoir dries up amid worst drought in 12 years

Nets for catching fish in the reservoir are now useless. The full-water reservoir was once the fishing ground for hundreds of local families.

A dead fish at the dry reservoir.

The reservoir water used to rise to near the surface of this bridge in Vinh Cuu District.

Some people wait with their fishing rods at the footbridge, which they used to do from the bridge. "There are not as many fish as when the water was high," said Hung, one of the anglers.

Van, a regular fisherman in Tri An, said the scorching heat made his job difficult. "The water drops every year but it has dropped so low this year. Normally I catch 10 kg of fish a day at this time but now I can only find two to four, each selling for VND60,000," he said.

People drive on a lane that was once full of water where people previously traveled by raft.

"We've had to put up sticks along the lane so we do not get lost," said Toan, a local man.

A truck is used to carry wood poles across the reservoir.

According to Tri An hydropower company, the water level is the lowest in 12 years, at about 50 meters. "Downpours on recent days have helped the level to rise to 51 m," said Vo Tan Nhan, director of the company.