Riga/Berlin, 9 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Extreme weather conditions across Europe and the aftermath that followed continued to wreak havoc on Tuesday.

One person has died and eight others were injured in severe storms in Latvia.

In the Baltic country, one person was hit by a falling tree and succumbed to his injuries later in hospital, Latvian Health Minister Liga Mengelsone said on Tuesday.

Strong gusts of wind, hailstorms and rain hit Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, on Monday. Buildings and vehicles were damaged and trees uprooted in all three countries.

Thousands of households were temporarily without electricity, according to media reports.

In Slovenia, the first team of German emergency workers has started operations following deadly floods and landslides.

The experts from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) arrived on Monday with an excavator. Other volunteers are to follow on Tuesday and in the coming days.

The situation on the ground is reminiscent of the disaster in the Ahr Valley two years ago, head of operations Thorsten Meier told German broadcaster ZDF, referring to the flood catastrophe that killed 185 in western Germany in July 2021.

"We also have houses torn away here, bridges torn away and a great deal of destruction in the area where the floodwaters went through."

At the weekend, Slovenia activated the EU's Disaster Response Mechanism. Under it, Germany is sending two prefabricated bridges and France two special excavators.

Flooding and landslides caused enormous damage, with villages being evacuated, and roads and train tracks submerged in water.

Six people died as a result of the extreme weather in Slovenia, Austria and Croatia, authorities said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Scandinavia continues to struggle with flooding caused by Storm Hans.

Several Norwegian roads were closed on Tuesday due to flooding and landslides. In several municipalities, a total of about 100 people had to be evacuated.

Norway's Meteorological Institute expected the extreme weather to continue, bringing large amounts of rain on Wednesday, especially in the northern regions of Oslo.

The storm first hit Sweden and shortly afterwards Norway.

Near Hudiksvall, some 300 kilometres north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, two carriages of a passenger train derailed on Monday after the railway embankment gave way due to heavy rain.

The storm is expected to continue over Scandinavia for several more days.

On Tuesday, the situation was tense in the Swedish town of Åre after a stream burst its banks there during the night.

Footage from Swedish radio showed flooded streets and images of a street and the floor under a snack bar being destroyed and swept away by the water flow. The police spoke of a lot of damage.

In the west coast city of Gothenburg, the area of the fishing harbour was underwater on Tuesday after the Göta Älv river burst its banks.

Floods in the south of Austria have reportedly caused damage to the transport infrastructure estimated at €15.4 million ($16.9 million).

More than 170 roads and paths in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia have been affected by mudslides, landslides and flood damage, the regional government said on Tuesday.

According to the Austrian weather service Geosphere, it rained more in some regions in southern Austria from Thursday to Monday than in an average August.

Almost 300 millimetres of rain fell within five days in the border region to Slovenia.

After the storms, the same ones which caused major damage in Slovenia, emergency services in Austria spoke on Tuesday of a stable situation and receding water levels.

However, the fire brigades were still busy with clean-up operations.

No figures were yet available on the estimated damage to buildings and businesses.

Photo: EPA