This is the dramatic moment a 500-year-old Buddhist pagoda collapsed after being battered by rain as Typhoon Noru lashed Thailand.

The ancient structure was severely weakened by months of consecutive rain - some of the worst to hit the country in recent years - before the tropical storm dealt the final blow today, September 29.

A severed crack formed down the side of the gold structure and concerned local officials put up barriers around the religious monument in Chiang Mai province.

Monks were praying for the highly-revered structure to withstand the weather but it finally gave way this afternoon and plunged to the ground at the Wat Sri Suphan temple.

Onlooker Nontakarn said: The ancient chedi is more than 500 years old but it collapsed after years of cracking. Together with the impact of continuous heavy rain weakened the soil.

'The storm this week was too strong and it was destroyed.'

Nontakarn said that monks and local volunteers had been working to preserve the pagoda for more than 80 years, often repainting and re-inforcing it to help withstand the elements.

Religious leaders from the temple are now lighting incense and saying prayers for the structure. It is not expected to be rebuilt.

He added: 'Everybody thought this was just another storm and we could repair the chedi after. This time it wasn't the case.'

Noru made landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday and has weakened to a tropical depression as it moved across Thailand on Thursday, September 29. Roads were flooded in Bangkok as Typhoon Noru brought heavy rain across the north and central regions of the country.

However, authorities have warned of possible floods and landslides across 64 provinces in the country as the weather system sweeps inland towards Myanmar.

In the Philippines, where Noru first struck, at least 10 people have been killed and an estimated 50,000 displaced by the severe weather.