Hanoi - Floods and heavy rains in Vietnam have killed three more people and left two missing, disaster centres reported Tuesday, bringing the toll of dead and missing since the current round of storms began October 24 to at least 86.

The National Committee for Storm and Flood Control said the worst flooding in almost three decades has left at least 20 people dead and two missing in Hanoi since November 3. Up to 835 millimeters of rain fell on the city between Friday and Tuesday morning.

Victims have drowned or been struck by falling trees and collapsing buildings. Several were electrocuted by live power lines.

The newspaper Tien Phong (The Pioneer) reported November 4 that one person was killed and three seriously injured in Quang Binh province Saturday when they were hit by lightning while herding buffalo.

Meanwhile, the floods have weakened dykes and led to food shortages and outbreaks of disease among children in several northern provinces.

In Hanoi, where several neighborhoods remain flooded, some 107,000 houses have been damaged and 278,000 hectares of crops destroyed by the floods. City authorities estimated total damage at 5.3 trillion dong (315 million dollars).

The floods have destroyed more than 50,000 hectares of crops and threatened 9,000 hectares of aquaculture farms in the Hanoi area.

Power remains out in several neighborhoods in the capital.

Schools in Hanoi remained closed Tuesday, while hospitals reported increased visits from parents with children suffering from flood-related illnesses such as colds and respiratory problems.

Dr Nguyen Thu Huong of the National Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi said some 120 children per day were coming in for testing due to diarrhea and respiratory difficulties, in place of the usual 90. She said 80 children had come in Tuesday morning alone.

Students in Hanoi have suffered food and water shortages as their dormitories were cut off by the floods over the past few days.

"We can't stay in our rooms because the water has submerged our beds and toilets," said Nguyen Minh Ly, a student at the Agriculture University. "Luckily, we have arranged to stay with our neighbours."

Dykes in flood-hit localities have been dangerously eroded, authorities have cautioned. On sections of the Red River flowing through three districts in Hanoi, at least 13 spots have become vulnerable.

The dykes along three smaller rivers flowing through Hanoi have also weakened seriously.

Shoppers reported large increases in vegetable and food prices as supplies were disrupted by the flooding.

Vietnam is prone to periodic flooding. Last year, the country was hit by seven major tropical storms or typhoons, which triggered floods and landslides that left 435 people dead or missing. (dpa)