A powerful storm tore through the Romanian ​capital Bucharest and 20 counties ‌on Wednesday, killing one person and damaging dozens of homes and ​vehicles, emergency services officials ​said.

In Bucharest alone, nearly 2,000 ⁠calls for help were ​reported, emergency services told broadcaster Digi24. ​Several metro stations were flooded.

Outside the capital, the storm wrought damage ​in 60 towns and villages. ​One person was killed when a ‌tree ⁠fell on their vehicle.

Police and firefighters were deployed across several counties, evacuating flooded homes and ​clearing ​debris.

The storm ⁠was preceded by a heat wave, with ​temperatures exceeding 40 degrees ​Celsius ⁠in parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday, boosting ⁠power ​consumption and raising ​electricity prices.