ActionAid is helping thousands of people left homeless after Typhoon Ketsana hit Vietnam killing nearly 100 with many more missing.

The storm hit Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia on 29 September, Tuesday with winds of up to 136 km per hour.Continuous rain, strong winds and flooding has affected a large area causing over 170,000 people to be evacuated from their homes.

Houses and schools were damaged or flooded and more than 503 classrooms submerged. Many districts and communes were isolated for several days.

ActionAid Vietnam' s Emergency Co-ordinator Dao Ngoc Ninh said thousands of hectares of rice crops were lost.

ActionAid teams were involved in the immediate rescue operations and assessment teams are currently on the ground organising the next phase of the relief operation. People will need dry rations, safe drinking water, candles, matches and kerosene and mosquito nets.

However further heavy rain storms are predicted for the coming days.

The typhoon follows two earthquakes on the Indonesian island of Sumatra two days ago and a tsunami that hit American Samoa on the same day.