Manila:  Floods triggered by heavy rains have killed 24 people and left four others missing in central Vietnam as typhoon Sarika approaches after leaving at least two people dead and displacing more than 150,000 in the Philippines.

In the worst-hit province of Quang Binh, 18 people died and authorities are searching for three missing, disaster official Tran Le Dang Hung said.

Six people died and one was reported missing in three other central provinces.

Heavy rains of up to 90 centimetres on Friday and Saturday submerged 125,000 homes in the region, temporarily disrupted the North-South Highway and damaged infrastructure, crops and fish farms.

Hung said the floods have receded in most areas in Quang Binh.

Sarika made landfall in eastern Philippines on Sunday after leaving at least two people dead a day earlier, thousands of villagers displaced and hundreds of planes grounded.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 148 km/h and gusts of up to 185 km/h, according to reports from US military's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

Eight mountaineers and four residents went missing in Aurora province, while 1940 families were evacuated in seven towns, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

More than 250 flights were cancelled across the Philippines, leaving in excess of 6000 passengers stranded. Philippines forecasters advised fishermen and those with small boats not to venture out over the northern, eastern and southern seaboards of Luzon.

The government is bracing for another storm, Haima (called 'Lawin' locally), which is expected to enter the Philippines on Monday. 

About 20 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines each year. In November 2013, typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6000 people and caused damage estimated at more than $US13 billion.

Bloomberg, AP