Emergency services were inundated with phone calls from home owners whose basements were flooded as the incessant rain made its presence felt.

The region’s main city, Malmö, was pounded by 66 millimetres of precipitation in a few short hours, according to meteoroligical agency SMHI.

Rescue workers were also called out to help motorists whose cars had stalled in the rising waters.

Per Bergkvist was out driving on Malmö’s inner ring road when he ran into difficulties around the Fosie exit, local newspaper Sydsvenskan reports.

“The water reached up to the car doors,” he told the newspaper.

A stretch of the E6 motorway between Hindby and Lindeborg was closed off due to flooding shortly before midnight.

The rain is expected to ease off on Sunday, according to SMHI, although there may be scattered rain and thunder showers in parts of Götaland and south-east Svealand.