The High Command of Coast Guard Region 3 under the Vietnam Coast Guard delivered 1,000 20-liter bottles of fresh water to residents in need in Binh Dai District under Ben Tre Province, southern Vietnam on Monday, as the locale is teetering on the brink of water crisis following worsening saline intrusion.

With a desire to help residents gain access to safe drinking water, the High Command ran the fresh water donation program in collaboration with the provincial Party Committee's Commission for Mass Mobilization and Binh Dai District's Fatherland Front.

The drinking water donation was just a simple act, but it generated enormous and positive effects on such a salinity-struck area.

Apart from transporting water bottles to the water-deprived district, coast guards taught locals to save water and use water sources safely amid the ongoing saltwater intrusion and drought.

The High Command will continue to donate drinking water to other water-stressed areas in the southern region in the next few days.

Over the past month, saline intrusion and droughts have caused a severe shortage of fresh water in many provinces in the Mekong Delta region, such as Ben Tre, Long An, Kien Giang, Tien Giang, and Ca Mau, local media reported.

People in the region are struggling to obtain clean water for their daily needs, while crops are suffering from drought.

Extreme heat is battering the southern region, with the highest temperature forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to the national weather center.

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