Around 500,000 people have been left without power after a storm took down power lines, ripped up trees and damaged buildings in Crimea.

Russian state news agency Tass said the storm also hit southern Russia and sent waves flooding into the beach resort of Sochi.

It is part of a weather front that hit Romania and Moldova on Sunday, leaving one person dead and hundreds of places without electricity amid heavy snowfall and strong blizzards.

Several Crimean regions declared a state of emergency after it became the strongest recorded storm in 16 years with wind speeds reaching 90mph (144kph).

The government in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, told people to stay at home on Monday.

Government offices were also shut as well as schools and hospitals.

The head of one Crimean region, Natalia Pisareva, said everyone in the Chornomorske area of western Crimea had no water supply and central heating because pumping stations had lost power.

There were also reports of a problem with a gas pipeline in Saky, western Crimea.

Read more world news:
Groom kills bride and three others at own wedding
US warship aids Israeli-linked tanker after attack

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

In an aquarium in Sevastopol, around 800 exotic fish and animals died after the room they were in was flooded, the Crimea 24 TV channel reported.

In Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped crude oil loading at the Novorossiysk port due to “extremely unfavourable weather conditions”.

Related posts:

PM won’t return 2,500-year-old ‘legally acquired’ Elgin Marbles to Greece Man wanted for buying stolen van Gogh paintings arrested in Dubai Boxer Manny Pacquiao to run for Philippines president Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband urges foreign secretary to make case ‘top priority’ Zika virus a mutation away from becoming more harmful, say scientists Russia moving the ‘Terminator’ around Ukrainian city ahead of expected assault, says military expert Russia fails to acknowledge six months of war in Ukraine during Moscow’s army games US extreme skier Hilaree Nelson given traditional Nepalese funeral Greece ‘open’ to talks with Turkey if Ankara ‘stops provocations’ Soledar may have fallen – but Ukraine says Russia has lost large number of troops for not much gain Four children found alive – five weeks after a deadly plane crash At least five killed in blast at rocket and explosives factory in Turkey