Flash floods and landslides in central Vietnam have killed at least 35 people, with an additional 34 people missing, officials from the affected provinces said Sunday. Rain had stopped Sunday morning in the five affected provinces, and authorities are assessing millions of U.S. dollars worth of damage from the torrential rains that came on the tail-end of Typhoon Muifa late last week. In Thua Thien-Hue province seven people were reported dead, and another 19 people are missing, said Phan Thanh Hung, the director of the province's flood control steering board. "The 19 people are missing as they went into the forest before the flood. Their chances of survival are unknown," said Hung from the province 650 kilometers south of Hanoi. Eleven people had perished in Quang Nam province and the popular tourist town of Hoi An was still partially flooded, according to Tran Van Binh, an official from the provincial flood control steering board "Rain stopped last night and the water level is going down. Water is still above warning levels in many districts," Binh said from the province 800 kilometers south of Hanoi. In Quang Ngai province, 840 kilometers south of Hanoi, water was receding fast, but flash floods and landslides had claimed 11 lives in the province, said Truong Ngoc Nhi the director of the flood control steering board there. Quang Binh province saw two deaths, and in Quang Tri province, four people have been killed and another 15 are still missing from the Hai Lang district of the province.
