Tropical storm leaves 65 dead

A tropical storm that caused widespread flooding in central Vietnam over the past week has killed 65 people, officials said today.

Although the torrential downpours have eased, much of the central provinces still remain inundated and four children drowned in flood waters today in Ha Tinh, officials said.

That brings the total number of deaths for the province to 27, including 13 children, said Dao Con Bach, a provincial disaster official.

Landslides and floods have killed 15 people in Daklak province, and left another six missing, said provincial official Bui Thi Hong.

In Quang Binh province, where floods have killed 13 people, rescue workers were rushing food and water to some 240,000 people in three districts who have lost their homes and livelihoods, said Nguyen Ngoc Dien, a provincial disaster official.

Two people were still reported missing.

Other provinces hit hard by the storm included Lam Dong, where flash floods left at least four people dead, including a 13-year-old boy killed by a falling tree, said Duong Thanh Hung, a provincial official.

Another five people died in four other central provinces, and one remains missing.

The flooding has also disrupted rail services since Tuesday, with sections of the track damaged or still submerged in three central provinces, an official from Vietnam Railway Corporation said.

The tropical storm, which was downgraded to a depression on Monday, was the worst to hit Vietnam this year.

Last year, natural disasters in Vietnam killed at least 500 people, injured nearly 3,000, and caused nearly 1.17 billion US dollars (£579 million) in damage.