Ammon News - The death toll from torrential rain, flooding and landslides in central Vietnam has risen to 55, with 13 people reported missing, the country's disaster agency said on Saturday.

Rainfall exceeded 1,900 mm (74.8 inches) in some parts of central Vietnam over the past week. The region is a major coffee production belt and home to popular beaches, but it is also prone to storms and floods.

Nearly half of the fatalities were in Dak Lak province, where 27 people have died, while 14 people have died in Khanh Hoa province. The government estimates the flooding has cost the economy around 8.98 trillion dong ($341 million).

Over 235,000 houses were flooded and nearly 80,000 hectares of crops were damaged, Vietnam's disaster agency said.

Multiple highways remained impassable Saturday and 300,000 people were without power, after a blackout that initially affected more than a million, the environment ministry added.

Natural disasters have left 279 people dead or missing in Vietnam and caused more than $2 billion in damage between January and October, according to the national statistics office.