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The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in north and central Vietnam has jumped to 54, officials said on Friday (Oct 13), in one of the deadliest weather disasters to hit the country in years.

Rescuers were desperately searching for 39 people still missing after heavy rains pounded several provinces this week, with forecasters warning of another major storm heading toward the country, The Straits Times reports.

This week's catastrophes destroyed thousands of properties and wiped out swathes of farmland, including outside Hanoi where part of a river dyke collapsed and flooded nearby communities.

Northern Hoa Binh province - where a state of emergency was declared this week - was the hardest hit with 17 dead and 15 missing, followed by central Thanh Hoa province where 14 were killed, Vietnam's Disaster Management Authority said.

Thousands of police and soldiers were deployed to help search efforts, reinforce dykes and hand out food as the death toll jumped from 37 people on Thursday.

Vietnam has already been hit by severe rain and storms this year, with nearly 170 people dead or missing before the latest bout of bad weather.