At least three people have been killed and four other missing in north-central Vietnam due to downpours and severe flooding brought about by a tropical depression.

The fatalities were recorded in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue Provinces, according to the National Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention.

At noon on Thursday, one resident in Quang Binh remained unaccounted for, while three others have gone missing after their fishing boat sank off the central province of Quang Nam.

Since Wednesday night, serious flooding has isolated 27 communes and submerged 466 houses in Ha Tinh.

As water levels continue rising, residents in the affected areas, along with their cattle and poultry, have been evacuated to higher ground.

Over 2,000 hectares of rice paddy across Ha Tinh has been inundated.

In Quang Binh Province, the average rainfall has reached 500 to 600 millimeters over the past few days.

More than 500 houses in Minh Hoa District have also been flooded.

Torrential rain in Quang Tri Province has caused many reservoirs to exceed their capacity by 25 to 30 percent over the past four days.

Hundreds of schools in Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri had to postpone their school year opening ceremonies on Thursday morning because of rising floodwaters.

According to Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, the tropical depression, which was located in the maritime area off north-central Vietnam, weakened into a low-pressure zone on Wednesday afternoon.

As of 7:00 am on Thursday, the low-pressure zone was unleashing winds at below 40km per hour.

Heavy rain, however, is still in the forecast in the localities from Nghe An to Quang Tri Provinces until the end of Thursday.

Rainfall is expected to decrease on Friday.

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