The UN is always ready to help Vietnam cope with floods, said Elisabeth Byrs, Spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Talking with a Geneva-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent, the spokeswomen said UN, non-governmental and international red cross organisations in Vietnam have coordinated closely with local authorities to provide timely assistance to Vietnamese flood victims.

Byrs said up to 700,000 Vietnamese people in the central and Mekong delta regions have been affected by floods and the Vietnamese Government has taken effective and prompt measures to aid the victims and deal with the consequences.

The UN has so far this year provided relief aid to 250,000 flood victims and has approved an emergency amount of USD100,000 to buy bottled water and lifebuoys for people in the flooded regions.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also launched a fund-raising campaign to help over 10,000 families with more than 42,000 people affected by floods.