Vietnam's top tourist sites Hue, Hoi An suffer heavy flooding

Heavy rains over the past days have caused serious flooding in central Vietnam, especially in top tourism destinations Hue and Hoi An, the government said in a report on Tuesday.

Rainfall in several parts of the UNESCO-listed former imperial capital Hue and the ancient town of Hoi An exceeded 1,000 millimetres in the 24-hour period ending late on Monday, according to the government's disaster management agency.

Vietnam is prone to often deadly storms and flooding that cause widespread property damage, especially during the storm season from June until October.

Photos circulating on state media showed that much of Hoi An was inundated by flood water, with several houses submerged up to their roofs, as authorities deployed boats to evacuate tourists.

In Hue, 32 out of 40 communes had been hit by flood waters with depths of 1-2 metres, according to the agency's report. The government said the flood levels in Hue were at a record high.

Throughout central Vietnam, authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of people from flooded areas, where transportation and power have been cut off.

State media reports said heavy flooding had also forced the state-run Vietnam Railways Corp to suspend services between the capital Hanoi and the business hub Ho Chi Minh City.

The government said in a separate report that more than 306,000 households and businesses in Hue, Danang and Quang Tri provinces were suffering from blackouts.

Water levels in the main rivers in central Vietnam were peaking and heavy flooding would continue over the next days, with additional risks of landslides, the government's weather forecasting agency said on Tuesday.

Natural disasters killed 187 people and caused property damage worth 16.1 trillion dong ($611 million) in Vietnam in the first nine months of this year, according to government statistics.