Storm Malik hits northern Europe

A powerful winter storm has swept through northern Europe, killing several people, destroying houses and cars and leaving thousands of households without electricity.

Storm Malik was advancing in the Nordic region on Sunday, bringing strong gusts of wind, and extensive rain and snowfall in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Malik reached the Nordic region and northern Germany late on Saturday after moving in from Britain, where it caused damage and transport chaos, hitting Scotland particularly badly.

In Scotland, a boy and a 60-year-old woman were killed on Saturday by falling trees as strong winds battered northern parts of Britain.

Wind gusts of more than 100mph have been reported in parts of Scotland, causing widespread disruption to transport and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes.

In Denmark, excessively strong winds with heavy rain caused the temporary closure of several bridges on Saturday, including the key Oeresund road and rail bridge connecting Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo.

Danish media reported that a 78-year-old woman died from severe injuries after falling in strong winds.

In neighbouring Germany, local media reported that a man was killed on Saturday after being hit by a billboard that was loosened by the storm.

Flooding in many parts of Denmark caused substantial damage.

Several crashes caused by falling trees and flying debris were reported to police.

Southern parts of Sweden were badly hit too and thousands of households were without electricity by Sunday afternoon.

Ferries to the Baltic Sea island of Gotland were cancelled because of strong winds.

Severe damage to houses, cars and boats, among other things, were reported in Norway while heavy snowfall throughout Finland caused crashes and disrupted bus and train traffic in parts of the country.