Trees across the region were torn down by the stormy gusts, falling on houses, cars and power lines.

The death of an elk in eastern Finland has been blamed on chronic wasting disease, which has never been seen in the country before.

Bilberry harvests have been poor in several key regions, and the dearth of berries in Eastern Europe especially has raised prices by as much as 70 percent in a year.

Nearly 500 cases of the mosquito-borne viral infection have been diagnosed so far this autumn. The disease tends to be cyclical, meaning cases remain very low for about seven years and then there are suddenly hundreds of cases in one year.