Hanoi - Floods triggered by heavy rains from a storm off central Vietnam have killed at least 24 people in the central highlands and coastal provinces, officials said Wednesday. By Wednesday, the rains had mostly stopped and residents were continuing to search for missing people and repair damage from the floods, which affected at least seven provinces.
Floods killed 11 people and left nine missing in Dak Lak province, 350 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City, according to Phan Thu Hien, an official of the province's flood and storm department.
"There is little hope that the missing people are still alive," Hien said, adding that four more missing people in the province were found dead Tuesday.
In neighbouring Lam Dong province, six people werekilled, according to Phuong Dinh Bao with the flood and storm department of the province.
The floods have also killed three people in Ha Tinh province and one each in Gia Lai, Phu Yen, Dak Nong and Quang Binh provinces.
The floodwaters also destroyed 270 houses and inundated more than 65,700 hectares of crops.
So far this year, floods have killed at least 31 people in Vietnam. More than 600 people were killed last year in Vietnam by storms and floods, including some 200 in Tropical Storm Chanchu in May 2006.
