TWO TRAINS AND their 1,400 passengers have been stranded in central Vietnam after rain and floods eroded part of the rail tracks. A Vietnamese newspaper reported that the pair of north-south trains have come to a halt in the province of Quang Binh. Thousands of trucks and cars are also stuck on the main national highway.

At least 26 people have died in the floods that have engulfed villages and countryside in the past few days, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

Rising waters in nine provinces have made the supply of emergency aid difficult. Roads have been swept away and thousands of hectares of crops destroyed.

In Ha Tinh, one of the worst hit provinces, the provincial flood and storm control department said nearly 27,000 houses had been damaged. Officials said:

(We need) at least 60 tonnes of instant noodles, 8,000 boxes of mineral water and 1,000 kilograms of chemicals to clean water for domestic use.

Central Vietnam was also devastated by flooding last November after a typhoon hit the area. Flash floods and landslides have also claimed at least 56 lives in Indonesia. Many more are injured or missing in the Teluk Wondama district of West Papua.