Vietnam floods toll 'rises to 42'

Vietnam floods toll 'rises to 42'

Vietnamese authorities on Wednesday raised the death toll from severe floods that swept central provinces to 42, with five people still missing.

This picture taken on November 16, 2013 shows a Vietnamese rescue team transporting villagers to a safer place in the central province of Quang Ngai

Nearly 430,000 houses have been inundated, damaged or destroyed, the flood and storm control department said in an online report, adding rains have now slackened and water has receded in some areas.

Local authorities had described the floods -- that hit the UNESCO-listed town of Hoi An and the former imperial City of Hue, along with other areas -- as the worst for over a decade, saying they had caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage.

Media reports said water discharged by several hydropower plants in the region contributed to the scale of the flooding.

However Vietnam escaped the worst of Typhoon Haiyan 12 days ago as it weakened before striking the country's coast.

Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated before the arrival of the typhoon, which had wreaked devastation on the Philippines.

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