A 59-year-old fisherman died on Monday after being struck by lightning while he was fishing in the waters of Quang Tri Province, central Vietnam, the provincial steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control confirmed the same day.

The deceased was identified as Tran Khuong T., a native of the province’s Trieu Phong District.

Representatives of local authorities visited and offered support and condolences to the bereaved family.

The lightning, accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy downpours, hit Quang Tri on Monday due to the impact of a tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea.

The province is forecast to brace for more large-scale downpours and flooding until Wednesday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

As of Monday at noon, more than 2,270 fishing boats and over 5,500 crew members in the province managed to take shelter from the tropical depression, while 13 other boats with 100 crew members on board were still operating at sea.

In addition, 79 fishing boats with 702 crew members from other provinces and cities were docking at waterway stations in Quang Tri the same day, the steering committee said.

To ensure rescue operations and natural disaster prevention and control tasks are carried out effectively, the steering committee worked out measures to cope with extreme weather events at sea, including dispatching rescuers to vulnerable areas.

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