There were no reports of casualties, and weather forecasters said the rain appeared to have peaked late on Sunday.

However the small town of Vaernamo, where 128 millimetres (just over five inches) of rain fell in two days, was threatened by the waters from a nearby lake. Troops were called out to build barriers of sandbags to prevent the waters of Lake Lagan from overflowing.

A main highway linking the capital Stockholm to the city of Malmoe in the south was still cut in several places on Monday, and numerous roads were under water in the province of Smaaland.

The national railway company said it would take around three days for train services to be fully restored.

TERRA.WIRE