At least four people died and thousands were left without power as Storm Malik swept through northern Europe over the weekend, destroying houses and cars, closing bridges and causing flooding while halting transport.

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 Saturday after moving in from Britain where it caused havoc with material damage and transport chaos, hitting Scotland particularly bad.

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

Wind gusts of more than 100 mph (160 kph) have been reported in parts of Scotland, causing widespread disruption to transport and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon warned that another storm due to hit the region on Sunday may be "more severe for parts of Scotland” than anticipated.

A construction crane lay after crashing in central Malmo after a powerful winter storm swept through northern Europe over the weekend, Sweden, Jan. 30, 2022. (TT via AP)

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 neighboring 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 material damage. Several traffic crashes caused by falling trees and flying debris were reported to the 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 canceled because of strong winds.

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