Heavy rains and flooding since the weekend killed six people, destroyed thousands of hectares of crops and damaged homes in Vietnam's north and central regions, the government said Wednesday.

Among the dead was a child buried in a landslide in Lao Cai province bordering China, it said.

More than 72,000 hectares (177,900 acres) of crops have been flooded in seven northern and central provinces while at least 2,000 houses were damaged, the national flood and storm control committee said.

Rains have now eased and the water levels of local rivers have started to slowly recede, weather forecasters said.

Vietnam regularly suffers from tropical storms and flooding at this time of year.

At least 22 people died during heavy rain and storms in the north in June, including 12 struck by lightning while working in rice fields.