VALLETTA, Malta — Unusually fierce storms swept through Malta on Monday, killing two people and dropping more rain on the Mediterranean island in two hours than its normal monthly average for September.
The first storm triggered floods that swept away a man who had abandoned his car. Police said the man managed to make it to higher ground. Another man working in a field was fatally struck by lightning, as a second storm battered Malta in the afternoon.
The storms caused substantial damage across the small Mediterranean archipelago, which includes the main island and sister islands of Gozo and Comino, with cars overturned, trees uprooted, houses flooded, and walls collapsed.
Malta’s meteorological office said 1.7 inches of rain fell, eclipsing the average for the month of September.
Also Monday, North Korea announced that the typhoon that hit the peninsula last week killed 48 people and left 21,000 homeless. The update from the official Korean Central News Agency said Typhoon Bolaven also left more than 50 people injured or missing, and damaged 123,000 acres of farmland.
The storm also killed 15 people in South Korea.