Seven people drowned in Quang Ngai province, while tens of thousands of houses were swamped by floodwaters, an official from the regional flood and storm control department said.

Some 15,000 homes were flooded in Quang Ngai, the worst affected province, and around 3,000 hectares of rice and other crops were destroyed by the heavy rains, which began Tuesday evening.

Fifty communes in the province were under water, in places 3.5 metres deep, the Nhan Dan newspaper said.

In Binh Dinh province, six people died and more than 3,600 hectares of crops were destroyed, while in Quang Ngam province one person died and in Thua Thien-Hue province another person was killed, the Thanh Nien said.

The water levels of all the main rivers in the region have risen an alarming rate, and the country's main north-south highway has been flooded in several places, according to state media.

Losses have been estimated at more than three million dollars.

TERRA.WIRE