Hanoi, Sep 16 (IANS): Vietnam's economy is expected to slow down by 0.15 percentage points compared with an earlier growth estimate of 6.8-7 per cent this year due to typhoon Yagi, local media reported on Monday, citing Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

Growth may suffer decreases of 0.35 percentage points in the third quarter and 0.22 percentage points in the fourth quarter, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Dung.

Typhoon Yagi and its aftermath have so far resulted in an estimated loss of 40 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$1.6 billion), according to the ministry.

Localities hit by the typhoon account for over 41 per cent of the country's economy and 40 per cent of the population.

Typhoon Yagi and consequent landslides and floods have left 292 dead and 38 others missing in Vietnam as of Monday morning, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Hundreds of thousands of children have lost their homes and are lacking access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare, the UN children's Agency (Unicef) said in a statement.

Nearly two million children have been left without access to education, psychosocial support and school feeding programmes as schools have been damaged and hit by power and water shortages, it added.