Sudden floods marking the start of summer have damaged a total of 11,000ha of rice and vegetables in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

The floods, which allegedly were made worse by an unannounced release of water from power-plant reservoirs, followed a three-day downpour with falls of 300mm.

Four people drowned in the ensuing disaster, one in Thua Thien - Hue, one in Quang Nam and two in Quang Ngai.

Farmers in Thua Thien - Hue blamed the Huong Dien Power Plant on the upper reaches of the Bo River for much of the flooding.

Hoang Vong, deputy head of agriculture and rural development in Quang Dien District, said the floods rose quickly after the release of a huge volume of water.

The district farmers association is preparing a lawsuit against the power plant.

A report by the central steering committee for disaster prevention said the floods destroyed 8,000ha of rice and 3,000ha of vegetables, sweet corn, peanuts and watermelon ready for harvest. Farmers face losses of billions Vietnamese dong. The floods also swept away 56.5ha of aquaculture fish and prawns.

Yesterday, flooding continued to block travel, impacting the lives of people in the Thua Thien - Hue districts of Quang Dien, Huong Tra, and Phu Loc

"We will be hungry soon as water drowned the rice and vegetables," farmer Nguyen Cat from Quang Phuoc Commune told Viet Nam News.

In Quang Nam, agricultural losses could reach VND55 billion ($2.53 million) Quang Ngai was hit hardest among the three localities.

Fifteen houses either collapsed or were damaged. Water covered roads around the province, hindering traffic in the districts of Nghia Hanh, Tu Nghia, Mo Duc, Ba To and Duc Pho.

Severe landslides occurred on the banks of the Rin River and besides streams in mountainous Son Ha District.

Pham Truong Tho, deputy chairman of the province People's Committee, said local authorities had deployed forces to save lives in landslide-prone areas and ease traffic jams.

VNS