( CNN ) -- The death toll from the latest round of heavy rain and flooding in central Vietnam continues to soar , with 46 people killed and 21 missing , state-run media report . Rescuers were able to save 18 people whose bus was swept away Monday on the north-south highway 1A through Ha Tinh Province , but 19 people remain unaccounted for , according to VietNamNet . The homes of 200,000 people are underwater in Nghe An , Ha Tinh and Quang Bing provinces because of floods caused by storms that began October 14 , official media report . On Sunday alone , about 30 inches of rain fell in parts of the country . The storms have hit the southeast Asian nation 's agricultural sector hard , with waters inundating 8,000 hectares ( 31 square miles ) of rice fields . Prices of some crops have increased 200 to 500 percent as a result . This storm follows rains and floods at the beginning of October in Nghe An , Ha Tinh , Quang Bing , Quang Tri and Thua Thien provinces that caused an estimated $ 137.5 million in damage , according to VietNamNet . The two rounds of flood calamities have contributed to the deaths of 112 people , reported state-run television network VTV4 , which cited Vietnam 's Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control as its source . The Vietnamese government has dispatched 20,000 troops to help with the rescue and recovery process in the latest flooding , with Red Cross staffers from Vietnam , Spain , China , Germany and the United States among those helping the cause , reported VietNamNet . The number of fatalities has climbed significantly in recent days . On Monday , state-run media were reporting that at least 20 people had died . A flood and landslide warning remains in effect for much of the region , with water levels dangerously high in the Ca River in Nghe An province and the Ngan Sau River in Ha Tinh province . Landslides have already dumped tons of dirt and debris , clogging the Pe Ke mountain pass and parts of the Ho Chi Minh Highway . And the situation might get worse , as Typhoon Megi , also known as Typhoon Juan , barrels across the South China Sea after killing 11 people in the Philippines . Besides rain , the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting forecasts strong winds , big waves and rough seas over the next several days .
Landslides and flooding leave 46 dead , 21 missing in central Vietnam . Homes of 200,000 people and 8,000 hectares of rice fields are underwater . Rescuers saved 18 people after their bus was swept away , but 19 are still missing . Two weeks earlier , 66 people in the region died after record-setting rains caused flooding .