Tropical storm Wutip, the tenth to hit Vietnam this year, has so far killed five people, injured 159 and left two missing after sweeping across the central region early this week.

All the fatalities were in Quang Binh province, while the two missing are in its neighbour of Quang Tri.

The typhoon has torn 365 houses apart, unroofed over 160,000 and flooded over 3,500.

In total, 238 ha of rice and over 8,000 ha of corn, cassava and vegetables have been submerged. The damage is estimated at nearly 5 trillion VND (23.8 million USD).

In Thua Thien-Hue, cartons of instant noodles have been handed out to victims in Phu Loc district. According to preliminary estimates, the disaster has cost the province alone nearly 315 billion VND (1.5 million USD).

Water reservoirs from the coastal provinces from Quang Binh to Ninh Thuan are operating as normal, although the water level has almost reached the designed capacity in many.

Flooding in rivers across the region is expected to continue rising on October 2.

A key electrical power line linking Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri has been restored after being damaged by the storm.

Many areas have suffered prolonged blackouts and the Electricity of Vietnam has asked its affiliates to do all they can to resume power supplies as soon as possible.-VNA