47 dead, missing in Vietnam floods

(CNN) -- Forty-seven people are dead or missing in north and central Vietnam after a weekend of heavy flooding, state media reported Sunday.

The rainfall, which began Thursday, is the heaviest in 24 years, a state meteorological official told the Vietnam News Agency. It is expected to last another two days, the agency said.

Floods occur frequently in Vietnam and kill hundreds every year.

The rainfall is the latest of three storms in the southeast Asian country since late September. It has submerged thousands of acres of crops and hundreds of houses, the news agency said.

Last month, floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit killed at 37 people in northern Vietnam.

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