Heavy rain with thunderstorms, strong winds and tornadoes have affected southern and eastern Canada (with the most affected States Ontario and Quebec), and northern and central USA over the past few days, causing floods, casualties and damage.

In Canada, media report at least eight fatalities due to severe weather-related events and approximately 900,000 people left without electricity following heavy rain and strong winds.

In the USA, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), one person died and 44 have been injured after a tornado in Michigan State. In addition, three tornadoes affected Missouri and Illinois resulting in damage to houses and buildings.

For the next 24 hours, moderate to heavy rain with thunderstorms is expected over central, eastern and south-eastern USA while moderate rain is forecast over eastern Canada.