HANOI, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Talas, which stroke Vietnam's central region on Monday, becoming the second tropical storm the country has experienced so far this year, has left four people dead and five others missing.

The storm has made over 50 houses collapse, ripped roofs of more than 4,200 houses, caused 53 fishing ships and boats, one tug boat of Vietnam's navy, and two barges to sink, and inundated nearly 50,000 hectares of rice and other crops, according to Vietnam's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control on Wednesday.

In the first half of the year, natural disasters in Vietnam killed or left missing 27 people, injured 30 others, damaged 5,900 houses and inundated 11,400 hectares of crops, said the country's General Statistics Office.