Elderly residents and small children clung to inflatable tyres as soldiers and police used rope lines to get them to safety from rising floodwater on Saturday in Cambodia's western province of Battambang.

Hundreds of families in three Cambodian provinces -- Pursat, Battambang and Pailin -- have been forced to evacuate amid extreme rainfall ahead of the arrival of a tropical depression across the Mekong region.

"A two-year-old child and 57-year-old man have drowned in the flood," Seak Vichet, a spokesman for the Cambodian national committee for disaster management told AFP on Saturday.

Authorities do not yet have a clear picture of the extent of the flood damage
Authorities do not yet have a clear picture of the extent of the flood damage AFP / STR

Authorities do not yet have a clear picture of the extent of the damage or people affected but expect the situation to worsen on Sunday.

In central Vietnam almost a metre of rain has fallen in recent days.

Five people have died with eight still missing as floodwaters inundated more than 33,000 homes and forced more than 26,000 people to evacuate, the official disaster management authority said.

Five people have been by killed and eight are still missing across central Vietnam after heavy flooding caused by torrential rains. Around 11 thousand people have been evacuated, as 37 communes from Quang Binh province to Danang city are cut off.
Five people have been by killed and eight are still missing across central Vietnam after heavy flooding caused by torrential rains. Around 11 thousand people have been evacuated, as 37 communes from Quang Binh province to Danang city are cut off. AUDIO NETWORK / Nguyen Le

The national highway linking north Vietnam to the south has been flooded, while airlines cancelled some domestic flights, local media report.

Roads also turned to rivers and water inundated properties in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, as residents scrambled to sandbag and move their belongings to higher ground.

Provincial governor Vichien Chantaranothai said the Pak Chong district was the hardest hit, with 8,000 households and 12,000 people affected. About 200 homes were inundated.

Authorities were distributing food packages and urged people to evacuate to community shelters.

The Khao Yai National Park was closed this weekend because of heavy rain and landslides.

In Laos, rising floodwater has damaged villages and rice fields along the Xepon and Xebanghieng rivers in Savannakhet province with more rain on the way.

Thailand