VietNamNet Bridge – People in the central region and Central Highlands have overcome the heavy floods, but they have to struggle hard to prevent epidemics which may break out in just some days as the environment and the water resources have got seriously polluted.

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Tens of thousands of tons of rubbish have “docked” at the Da Nang seashore, seriously polluting the beaches and residential quarters. The white sand bank, about 10 kilometers along the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa route, from Son Tra peninsula to the Quang Nam sea, has become a rubbish field. The beaches of Nam O, Xuan Thieu and Thanh Binh in the city have also been full of rubbish.

However, rubbish is not the biggest problem for local people, who believe they can clean the areas after a short time. They more worry about the water sources which have got polluted.

According to Nguyen Khac Xuyen, a senior official of the Dai Loc district in Quang Nam province, the wells which were the only water source of local people have got muddy. The water pipe which brings clean water from Khe Trau to local people in An Diem hamlet has been swept away by the floods.

The same situation now can be seen in the two districts of Ea Sup and Ea H’leo of Dak Lak province. Dao Thi Yen a local resident in Ea Sup, said her well has been inundated for five days.

The local authorities have provided chemicals for water treatment. However, Yen said, the limited medicine is just enough to make drinking water. Meanwhile, Yen and neighboring families have to use the polluted water from the wells for washing. Some of Yen’s family members have got sore eyes.

More seriously, a lot of ethnic minority families living in the forests now use untreated water, which may lead an epidemic.

In Minh Hoa district of Quang Binh province, the eye ache epidemic has spread out in the flood stricken communes, including Thuong Hoa, Trung Hoa and Tan Hoa.

Cao Thanh Bien, Chair of the Thuong Hoa commune people’s committee, said though the authorities and people have been doing the hygienic works well after the floods, the eyesore epidemic still has broken out. About 200 people in the locality have suffered from the disease. Most of them are at the school age.

Director of the Minh Hoa district’s Healthcare Preventive Center Cao Sy Phuong said the center not only provides medicine to people, but has to send staff to every commune to help people clean the polluted water.

According to Le Thi Chau, Director of the Ea Sup district healthcare center, 809 water wells in the district have been inundated--which needs treatment. Thousands of Chloramin B tablets have been delivered since September 20, for treating water.

“The number of patients suffering from eyesore had increased rapidly by September 24, but the epidemics are still under the control,” Chau said.

In Ea H’Leo district, 650 water wells have been inundated, which means 3,640 people don’t have clean water. Due to the lack of Chloramin B, the water treatment has been made only in three communes and towns. The district’s healthcare center has proposed the provincial healthcare department to allocate more chemicals for water treatment.

Mai Chi