HANOI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Vietnam's economic growth in 2024 may decline by 0.15% compared to the previous forecast due to the impact of Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year, according to Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung.

The storm, which made landfall in Vietnam last Saturday, wreaked havoc on infrastructure, factories and cost the country about 40 trillion dong ($1.63 billion), state-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) quoted the minister as telling a government meeting.

"The growth rates in the last six months of the year of the whole country and of many localities are forecast to slow down," VNA cited minister Dung as saying.

"GDP growth in the third quarter and fourth quarter could decrease by 0.35% and 0.22% respectively compared to the scenario without Typhoon Yagi," he added.

The ministry had forecast in July that Vietnam's economy could expand by 7% this year.

The Southeast Asian country is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, which killed at least 281 people and left 67 missing as of Sunday morning, according to data from Vietnam's disaster agency.

Floods have also inundated 190,000 hectares (469,500 acres) of rice fields, 48,000 hectares of cash crops such as corn and cassava and damaged nearly 232,000 houses in northern Vietnam, according to the agency.

Haiphong City, home to several industrial parks, recorded about 11 trillion dong ($448.43 million) of losses and damage from the typhoon, Dung said.

In a separate statement released by the government, Vietnam said it strived to control inflation and reach gross domestic product growth of about 7% this year despite the hit from Typhoon Yagi.

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