More than 1,000 villages on China's Hainan island have been hit by flooding following the heaviest rains for decades, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 210,000 people had been evacuated by late Thursday, Xinhua said, with more downpours forecast for Friday.

The torrential rains have been falling for more than a week and are the worst on the island off China's southeastern coast since 1961, it added.

One fisherman had been killed and three others were missing, Xinhua said.

It quoted Hainan's armed police headquarters saying that more than 1,500 soldiers and 45 rescue boats had been dispatched for rescue work.

earlier related report
Hope fades for Vietnam's flood missing: official
Hanoi (AFP) Oct 7, 2010 - Hope faded Thursday for people listed as missing after floods killed at least 49 in central Vietnam, an official said.

"The rains have stopped falling and the water level has visibly lowered. But the possibility of finding the missing is reduced after several days of searching," said Hoang Van Quyet, an official with Quang Binh province's natural disaster committee.

Quang Binh was hardest-hit by the flooding sparked by heavy rain over recent days. The province recorded 33 dead and 13 missing.

Another 16 people died in Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces, with three missing.

In Quang Tri, roads and agricultural land remained inundated, said Le Chi Cong, of the provincial disaster committee.

"This will certainly affect rice production for the winter-spring season," Cong said, adding that landslides had disrupted traffic flow in the province's Huong Hoa district.

Quang Tri is already a poverty-stricken province where more than 80 percent of the land is affected by unexploded munitions from the Vietnam War, according to an official survey last year.

Foreign tourists interested in the province's numerous wartime battle sites regularly visit the area.

Food and emergency medical supplies are being sent to affected communities, state media reported.

Central government officials launched a nationwide campaign for donations to help the flood victims, state television reported.

earlier related report
Indonesia flood toll rises to 97: official
Jakarta (AFP) Oct 7, 2010 - The death toll from flash floods in a remote region of eastern Indonesia has climbed to at least 97 with dozens of people still missing, an official said Thursday.

Rescue workers were still searching for survivors from floods which hit West Papua province's Teluk Wondama district on Monday following torrential downpours, a rescue official said.

"At least 97 people were killed and more than 800 people were lightly and badly injured," Papua search and rescue official Mochamad Arifin told AFP.

"We are still searching for dozens of missing people," he said.

Those killed had reportedly drowned and been swept away by the powerful waters along with uprooted trees, rocks and debris.

Experts warned such events will become more common in the archipelago due to a combination of climate change, land conversion and logging, which can contribute to landslides and flash floods after monsoonal downpours.

Indonesia's climatology agency said most parts of Indonesia had experienced torrential rains, strong winds, high waves and flooding due to extreme weather this year.