Heavy rain and thunderstorms have caused widespread damage in Spain and Greece. The north-east of Spain, around Barcelona, was particularly hard hit. In some places there, more than 200 mm of rain fell in just 24 hours.

That is almost twice as much as is normally recorded there throughout the whole of October. Rivers burst their banks and numerous roads were flooded. At least three people lost their lives.

Even greater amounts of rain fell in Crete. Locally, up to 500 mm fell there – which is roughly the same amount of water as would fit into three full bath tubs per square metre.

Roads were washed away, houses and farmland were damaged, and there were power cuts in many places. On Rhodes, a German holidaymaker was also killed by a lightning strike.

The weather situation in Greece has now settled down. In parts of Spain, however, conditions are set to remain unsettled over the next few days. Anyone travelling there should keep an eye on the weather radar.