One man died and another was wounded in a wave of violent storms that hit central and western Romania on Wednesday night. The storms affected several counties in the regions of Transylvania and Banat, including Cluj, Maramures, Harghita, Mures, Alba, Sibiu and Timis. It also poured in Bucharest throughout the day yesterday, bringing traffic to a standstill for many hours in the evening.

The two victims, a 62-year old man and a 21-year old youngster, were working the land in the village of Nucet, Sibiu county when a storm started on Wednesday. The two were hit by lightning. Only the young man survived.

In a Cluj city quarter, strong winds blew away the roofs of two blocks of flats and a house in the Village Museum there was burnt down by a lightning.

Another block roof was blown away in Alba Iulia. Houses and blocks of flats were also seriously damaged in Ocna Mures and Uioara de Sus. And in the county of Harghita, two resorts, several villages and parts of two cities were left without electricity because of torrential rain and hail.

Traffic was also interrupted in the city of Timisoara and nearby towns in western Romania where violent winds brought down trees, blocking several national and European roads.