Nine killed as record rain lashes country

Widespread flooding across central Vietnam has killed nine people and damaged more than 100,000 homes in the tourist hubs of Hue and Da Nang, as the Southeast Asian nation endures another bout of extreme weather.

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Rainfall in the central city of Hue reached over 1,700 millimetres within 24 hours as of late Monday, the highest rainfall ever recorded in Vietnam. More than 21,000 residents have been evacuated from flooded or landslide-prone areas, according to the government website.

Severe flooding has forced Vietnam Railways to halt train services between the capital Hanoi and the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Train lines between Da Nang and Hue have been also suspended, affecting at least 2,700 tourists.