Vietnam: Floods, landslides kill 31, thousands evacuated

At least 37 people were killed and another 40 are missing as floods and landslides hit northern and central Vietnam, disaster officials said Thursday.

The disasters injured 21 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 houses, submerged another 16,740 homes and damaged infrastructure and crops in six central and northern provinces, the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in a statement Thursday.

In the hardest-hit northern province of Hoa Binh, 11 people died and 21 others were missing. The casualties include four families whose houses were buried in a landslide early Thursday while they were sleeping, killing six and leaving another 12 missing, disaster official Quach Viet Hoang said.

The storm hit central Vietnam on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain to the region and to parts of northern Vietnam.

More rains are forecast for some parts of northern and central regions Thursday as a cold spell is moving from southern China to Vietnam, the disaster agency said.

Agriculture ministry has said it was the first time in a decade that northern and central regions suffered such a big volume of rains in a short period of time.

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

OneIndia New (with agency inputs)