Freak Storms Hit Cyprus

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Torrential rain, hail and strong winds caused havoc in parts of normally sunny Cyprus on Monday, flooding homes and uprooting trees, authorities said. The tourist resort of Paphos on the island"s western coast was hit by a freak hailstorm early on Monday morning. A deluge coupled with strong winds felled trees which crashed into vehicles. "We got more than 40 calls to pump water out of homes," a fire brigade spokesman said. The weather also affected power supplies to the region, the electricity authority said. Cyprus has been suffering a severe drought for the past four years, broken intermittently by unusually heavy storms.