The Vietnamese Central Steering Committee on Flood and Storm Prevention and Control said typhoon Ketsana has left 163 people dead, 17 missing and 616 injured in the country's central and highland provinces so far, the Vietnam News Agency reported Sunday.

Among storm-hit provinces, the Kon Tum highland province has the highest number of deaths with 48 people losing their lives in the floods caused by the typhoon. It was followed by central provinces of Quang Ngai and Quang Nam with 35 and 26 deaths respectively, said the committee.

Currently, Vietnamese ministries, localities and ordinary people are continuing with their rescue work and making every effort to deal with the aftermath of the typhoon.

Food, water, blankets and medicine are being transported to the affected areas to help local residents fight against hunger and diseases after the floods.

Earlier, the Vietnamese government decided to provide 500 billion Vietnamese dong (about 28 million U.S. dollars) and 10,000tons of rice to storm-hit provinces.

With great efforts, many houses, school rooms, and medical clinics damaged or destroyed by the floods have been repaired. More roads in the provinces have reopened to the traffic.

Electricity and telephone lines have been reconnected again in major parts of the affected provinces.

Typhoon Ketsana swept into Vietnam on Tuesday. It battered and caused severe damage to 15 central and highland provinces in the country.

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