Lightning kills 7 in Cambodia, storm hits land in Vietnam

Hanoi: A tropical storm made landfall in central Vietnam on Friday, killing one person, while seven people died in a lightning strike in neighbouring Cambodia.

The lightning struck a wooden stilt house under which people were eating in Cambodia's northwestern Battambang province on Thursday evening. The dead included a family of four and three other relatives, said Keo Vy, the spokesperson for the National Committee for Disaster Management.

After hitting Vietnam, Tropical Storm Noul weakened into a depression, national television VTV reported. The storm caused heavy rain and strong winds in several coastal provinces, uprooting trees and blowing away roofs. In Hue province, a man was crushed to death by a falling tree. At least 23 others were reported injured, VTV said.

Vietnam had evacuated some 60,000 people in the path of the storm and cancelled 40 regional flights. The Meteorological Department in Thailand issued a warning Friday saying rains from the storm will cover every part of the country, especially northern and northeastern provinces. Local media reported heavy rain and flooding in Khon Kaen province on Friday morning.