Vietnam drought leaves one million in urgent need of food aid - EU

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N19C3B5

June 20, 2016

BANGKOK, June 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An El Niño-induced drought in Vietnam has left 1 million people in urgent need of food assistance and 2 million people lacking access to drinking water, Europe's humanitarian aid agency said.

The country's worst drought in 90 years coupled with seawater intrusion into the Mekong River delta have destroyed fruit, rice and sugar crops in the world's third-largest rice exporter after India and Thailand.

"The disruption in precipitation patterns has affected the livelihoods, food security and access to safe water of the people of Vietnam," Christos Stylianides, EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said in a statement.

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tags: severe weather, extreme weather