Catastrophe: Nearly 16,000 homes flooded; Several dead; Emergency directive issued PHOTO/VIDEO

More than 15,700 houses have been submerged and another 400 damaged, while over 14,600 hectares of rice fields and other crops have been flooded, the agency said, as reported by Xinhua.

At least 97,000 heads of livestock and poultry have been killed or swept away, while floods, landslides, and traffic disruptions occurred at 602 locations across the northern mountainous and north-central provinces, the statement said.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday issued an urgent directive calling for intensified efforts to prevent flash floods and landslides and to assist residents in the affected areas, the report added.