HANOI - Four people were carried away in a flash flood in northern Vietnam and no trace of their bodies has been found, authorities said Tuesday.

Floods and heavy rains also carried away domestic animals and devastated houses and hundreds hectares of farmland.

Earlier this month lightning killed three people in northern province of Phu Tho during a violent thunderstorm. After flooding lightning is the second biggest global weather killer. Despite the fierce weather, rain has been welcomed in central province of Lam Dong where severe drought has pushed hundreds of thousands of people into a famine.

Copyright 2002 AFP & Weatheronline