HANOI • Tropical storm Talas made landfall in the central Vietnamese provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, resulting in strong winds and heavy rainfall that killed at least 14 people and destroyed thousands of houses.

The storm early on Monday gradually weakened as it moved westwards. Following the storm, the second to hit Vietnam this year, more rainfall, measuring 100 to 200mm, is forecast to hit the north-east and north central areas in the next few days.

Nearly 3,000 houses in the provinces had their roofs blown off and thousands of trees were uprooted. Electricity supply in Vinh city and several districts was cut off.

Local authorities were also searching for a coal ship that went missing on Sunday night with 13 people on board.

Seven people were rescued and three bodies were recovered, with another three remaining unaccounted for.

On Monday night in Nghe An province, two traffic officials were on their way to landslide-hit roads when their pickup truck slid off the slippery road and fell into rushing waters. Their bodies were later recovered.

Meanwhile, one person in Nghe An died after being hit by a sheet-metal roof blown away by strong winds.

In the central provinces, hundreds of houses and schools had their roofs blown off and thousands of hectares of crops were destroyed.

Hanoi, the capital, also experienced heavy rainfall causing many roads to be submerged .

Meanwhile, Japan has issued evacuation orders as its northern Fukushima and Niigata prefectures were battered by torrential rain yesterday, raising the threat of floods and landslides.

There were no reports of injuries or fatalities so far.

In South Korea, the death toll from the torrential rain that devastated the central regions over the weekend rose to four, with two still missing. VIETNAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS

NETWORK, KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, XINHUA

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Tropical storm kills at least 14 in Vietnam str.sg/4D4w