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Hundreds of houses in Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province, have been inundated. Photo: VnExpress

As of October 11 night, torrential rains claimed 17 lives, left 13 missing and forced the evacuation of 49,700 others, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The victims hail from the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, and Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces in the Central Highlands region.

Quang Tri province has been hit hard by heavy rains. Photo: VnExpress

Heavy rains have also submerged 206 communes with more than 100,000 households almost three metres under water, mostly in Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang.

Storm Linfa had hit Vietnam’s central region, making landfall in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces on October 11 morning before reverting to a tropical depression.

The storm has uprooted dozens of trees, blown off the roofs of around 20 houses and sunk a fishing boat with a father and son on board in Quang Nam.

A road in Quang Dien district, Thua Thien Hue province, has been submerged 30-40cm under water. Photo: VnExpress

A tropical depression began brewing in the Bien Dong Sea (South China Sea) soon after Storm Linfa made landfall in the central region.

The eye of the depression was 770 km to the east of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago on October 11 afternoon with 50 kph winds.

In the next 24 hours, it is likely to move west-northwest at the 10 kph, and could grow stronger as it moves, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

As of October 12 afternoon, it would be centred at around 450 km east-northeast of Hoang Sa with maximum wind speeds of 60 kph.

A shrimp farm in Vinh Son commune, Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province, has been destroyed by flooding. Photo: Vietnamnet

Due to the influence of the tropical depression in combination with a tropical convergence zone and a cold spell moving down from the north, almost all coastal areas of Vietnam would see heavy rains and rough seas, the centre cautioned.

Linfa was the sixth storm to have formed so far this year in the Bien Dong Sea. The fifth one, named Storm Noul, killed six people last month.

Natural disasters, mostly floods and landslides triggered by storms, killed 132 people and injured 207 others in Vietnam last year./.

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