Record floods kill 10 and turn streets into canals in Vietnam

Major flooding that killed IO people in central Vietnam this week also turned streets in Hoi An into canals on Thursday after a major river reached a 60-year high, authorities said.

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Heavy rain has pummelled Vietnam's coastal provinces, home to Hoi An’s ancient town that is a Unesco world heritage site, since the weekend, with a record of up to I.7 metres falling over 24 hours.

People steered wooden boats and waded through waist-deep water down Hoi An's flooded streets on Thursday, with the ground floors of houses and shops submerged, an AFP journalist said.

Resident Tran Thi Ky said her family had tried to raise their furniture off the ground using bricks over the past few days.

"Finally, we gave up,” the 57-year-old told AFP. Ky said the family’s refrigerator, kitchenware and wooden furniture on the ground floor were almost completely underwater.

“I have never experienced this in my whole life living here,” she said from the balcony of her two-storey house.

At least IO people have been killed this week and eight others are missing, the environment ministry said.

More than 128,000 houses in five central provinces have been inundated, with water three metres (IO feet) deep in some areas.