The snowstorm that swept through northern Europe this weekend claimed the lives of at least four people, destroyed houses and vehicles, closed bridges, caused flooding and forced transport to halt, and left tens of thousands of people without electricity.
The Nordic region was affected by Storm Malik on Sunday, with strong gusts of wind, heavy rain, and snow falling in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Having moved from Britain where it caused material damage and transport chaos, Malik reached the northern regions of Germany and Scandinavia late Saturday. It caused the most damage in Scotland.
On Saturday, a boy and a woman, both 60, were killed by falling trees in northern Britain as strong winds battered the area.
Scotland has experienced wind gusts of more than 100 mph (160 kph), resulting in power outages for tens of thousands of homes and widespread disruptions to transport.
Nicola Sturgeon has expressed concerns that another storm due to hit Scotland on Sunday could be “more severe than expected” for some parts of the country.
Several bridges in Denmark were temporarily closed on Saturday due to excessive wind and rain, including the Oeresund road and rail bridge that connects Copenhagen and Malmo in Sweden.
A woman, 78, died after she was severely injured by strong winds, according to Danish media reports. An unidentified man died on Saturday after he was struck by a billboard which was loosened by the storm in neighboring Germany.
In Denmark, flooding caused significant material damage. Police were informed of numerous traffic accidents caused by falling trees and flying debris.
Strong winds caused ferries to the Baltic Sea island of Gotland to be canceled because of the weather. The southern parts of Sweden were hit as well, and thousands of homes lacked electricity by Sunday afternoon.
As a result of the heavy snow, houses, cars and boats were severely damaged in Norway, while a large number of road crashes and disruptions of bus and train transportation were experienced in Finland.
