HANOI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Downpours and floods in Vietnam's central and central highlands regions have left at least five people dead and one missing in the past few days.

The five deaths include three people in the same family in Khanh Hoa province and two female tourists who were on a tour in Lam Dong province, according to the latest reports by Vietnam News Agency.

The downpours and floods severely damaged eight houses and inundated 180 others while causing landslides and inundation in several roads in provinces including Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak and Quang Nam, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Wednesday.

A total of 1,468 households with 5,674 people in the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak have been evacuated, the committee said, noting that around 279,600 students in Khanh Hoa were allowed off from school on Sunday and Monday.

Downpours hit central and central highlands regions from last Saturday to Monday with some areas' accumulative rainfall surpassing 900 mm, according to the committee.

Natural disasters, mainly landslides, floods and hailstones, left 335 people dead or missing in Vietnam in the first 10 months of this year, causing an economic loss of over 21 trillion Vietnamese dong (913 million U.S. dollars), said the committee.