HANOI, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Floods and landslides triggered by the now-weakened Typhoon Molave in Vietnam's central and central highlands regions had left 23 people dead, 47 missing and 45 injured as of Thursday night, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said Friday.
The fatalities were recorded in Quang Nam, Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces, while the missing and injured were reported in Quang Nam and Binh Dinh provinces, according to the committee.
The natural disasters destroyed 2,642 houses, damaged 92,356 and inundated 2,415, and as many as 576 communes suffered from power outage, said the committee.
More than 100 electricity poles and nearly 8,800 trees were knocked down. Roughly 5,500 hectares of rice and other crops, some national highways and local roads were also damaged.
From Tuesday to Thursday, provinces including Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai witnessed torrential rains. Some areas recorded rainfall up to 563 mm, said the committee.
As many as 6,260 military personnel have been mobilized for the search and rescue work and to help local people cope with Molave, which is among the strongest typhoons that hit Vietnam in the past 20 years.
Molave approached part of Vietnam's central region on Wednesday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds, said the committee. Enditem