Two more people were killed on Oct. 4 in the wake of ongoing storms and flooding, raising the recent death toll due to weather to 13, the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control announced.

The victims were swept away in flood waters caused by Typhoon Nesat in central Quang Binh province. Five others were injured, while 14 schools and 2,830 houses were submerged in the province.

Storm Nalgae, the sixth storm of the year and the second in a week, is forecast to weaken into a low pressure system before making landfall in the central region ton Oct. 5 . Winds are expected to reach 74kph from Nghe An to Quang Tri provinces while central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Nam will experience heavy rainfalls, according to the Central Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

About 36,000 vessels have been informed of the storm's progress. None have been reported to be operating in the storm-hit areas around Hoang Sa Islands and the northern East Sea .

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Oct. 4 visited Dong Thap province in the Cuu Long ( Mekong ) Delta, where five deaths and six injuries were recorded during the ongoing floods.

An initial report from local authorities showed that the total losses have reached more than 496 billion VND. Damage to traffic infrastructure made up 178 billion VND (8.5 million USD) of that figure while the loss of rice crops accounted for 57.5 billion VND (2.7 million USD).

The Deputy PM said that local authorities and residents should continue to strengthen the dyke systems to protect the province's remaining 5,000ha of rice and to quickly harvest as much of the crop as possible to minimise losses. About 2,000ha of rice were destroyed by previous flooding.

Hai said the Mekong Delta localities need to redesign their infrastructure to protect lives and production in the coming years, especially rice production.

Floodwaters in the Mekong Delta region are expected to continue to rise to alarming levels, said experts./.