HANOI (Vietnam) - FLOODING killed at least 11 people in Vietnam's southern and central regions, submerged thousands of homes in its largest city and stranded air and railway passengers, officials said on Sunday.

The country braced for more rain as another tropical storm approached, forecasters said.

Floods caused by surging high tides submerged thousands of homes in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend, according to state media.

No deaths were reported in the city, but television footage showed homes and streets in the downtown area under one metre of water.

At least eight people were killed in heavy rains in southern Khanh Hoa province over the weekend, including a 2-year-old boy who drowned, said disaster official Pham Van Quang.

In neighbouring Phu Yen province, the bodies of three children were recovered on Sunday after being washed away from their homes, said provincial official Dang Thi Lanh.

The floods disrupted the main highway and railway links between northern and southern Vietnam. Flights were cancelled to Nha Trang, a southern beach resort town. Thousands of passengers were stranded, Mr Lanh said.

Rains had stopped in most areas by Sunday afternoon, but Tropical Storm Noul, packing winds of 70 kilometres per hour, was expected to make landfall on Tuesday in the country's central region and the Mekong River delta, Vietnam's rice bowl, the national forecaster said.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung urged provinces to move people to higher ground and call home thousands of fishing boats.

'This storm, though not very strong, is expected to hit hard the vast delta, where houses are not well built. So it could be a very devastating one,' state-owned television quoted Mr Hung as saying.

Last week, 94 people died in floods that inundated the capital, Hanoi, and other provinces in the country's northern and central regions.

Vietnam is prone to floods, which kill hundreds each year. -- AP