Hanoi, Sep 5 (IANS) Flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in Vietnam’s northern and central regions since late last week have killed 15 people and left five missing, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, floods and landslides claimed nine lives and left three people missing in central Thanh Hoa province. Meanwhile, floods killed two people in northern Lang Son province, and one person in each of the four northern provinces of Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Son La and Lai Chau, and left one person missing in Lai Chau and Yen Bai each, Xinhua news agency reported.

The floods and landslides also destroyed 382 houses, damaged 5,209 hectares of rice and other crops, and killed 2,400 cattle and over 1,02,400 fowls, said the committee.

Natural disasters, mostly typhoons, floods and landslides, killed or left missing 153 people and injured 119 others, and caused property losses of over 7,000 billion Vietnamese dong (304.3 million U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. </s> Flooding triggered by a tropical storm has killed at least 20 people and left over a dozen missing in northern Vietnam.

Flooding triggered by a tropical storm has killed at least 20 people and left over a dozen missing in northern Vietnam.

At least 20 killed and dozens missing after Vietnam flooding

Ten people drowned in floods caused by heavy rain in Yen Bai province after Tropical Storm Son Tinh hit the country’s northern region last week, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

In Thanh Hoa province, a flash flood swept through a small village in Lang Chanh district and carried away a dozen stilt houses on Thursday.

Local resident Luong Van Hung said: “The floods came so quick and gave us so little time to escape.

“Some managed to run to high ground, but others got swept away in the floods.”

The floods took away a family of four as they were sleeping, said Nguyen Xuan Hong, chairman of Lang Chanh district.

Two people were found dead in the debris left by the flooding while the body of the family’s five-year-old daughter was recovered in a stream two miles from their home.

A rescue group of 300 people were looking for the fourth member of the family, who is still missing, Mr Hong said.

Casualties were also reported in Phu Tho, Lao Cai, Hoa Binh and Son La provinces, where heavy rain caused landslides and cut off roads.

The rain stopped over the weekend, but the national weather forecast agency said another tropical depression is heading toward northern Vietnam this week.

Vietnam is prone to destructive storms and floods that kill hundreds of people every year. </s> HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Floods from torrential rains have killed 13 people in central Vietnam, with more rain forecast for the region.

Local disaster officials said Monday that floods since late November have killed six people in Binh Dinh province and three in Quang Nam province.

The floods have largely receded, they said.

The government said in a report that another four died in Quang Ngai. The floods damaged the region’s infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, it said.

The report says a cold spell from the north is expected to bring heavy rains to the region starting Monday.

Central Vietnam is one of the country’s poorest areas, and has suffered two bouts of floods since October, killing nearly 50 people.

Vietnam is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.

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Floods caused by heavy rain over the past week has caused at least 13 deaths in central Vietnam with more heavy rain forecast.