Damaging winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Lowell pelted Hawaii’s western islands Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands and ripping up stretches of beachside roads.

Along the Southern California coast, dangerous surf conditions kicked up by the remnants of Hurricane Marie were expected to stick around for several days.

Several storms, including Hurricane Lowell and Hurricane Karina, moved through the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, fuelled by a historically strong El Nino that has already been linked to extreme weather around the globe and is expected to persist through to February.

Dozens of people were injured after a tornado and hail hit the northern Italian city of Cremona, causing widespread damage.

Like much of Europe, Italy has faced a relentless period of extreme weather, with the country sweltering under its fifth heatwave of the summer.

Ten churches, including the city’s main cathedral, were damaged, according to Italy’s fire brigade, which responded to more than 500 emergency calls within hours.

Catastrophic floods, snow and mudslides have struck the Andes region, with Chile, Peru and Bolivia all badly hit. Peru's president has declared a state of emergency as experts warn that up to 1.2 million people could be affected.

In northern Chile's Atacama Desert, sudden mudslides swept away vehicles and sent residents fleeing. Evacuee Sergio Vargas describes the Coloso ravine surging without warning after the rain had stopped. In Bolivia, unprecedented snowstorms in the Andes are threatening tens of thousands of llamas and sheep, with herder Elizabeth Calle moving starving animals to lower ground in search of food. In Peru, days of torrential rain have triggered landslides, destroying homes and leaving thousands displaced.

Typhoon Saudel is expected to make landfall along China’s eastern coast, after slamming Okinawa and other remote southwestern Japanese islands, causing blackouts, flight cancellations and threatening landslides. Two people were slightly injured.

Panama and El Salvador have become the latest countries along with Honduras to declare an emergency over El Nino, which has already forced a reduction in shipping through the Panama Canal. All three countries broke their monthly temperature records in both June and July, exacerbating famine concerns.

A tornado tore through a village in southwestern France on Monday, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes, authorities said.

French authorities had placed swathes of the country's southwest on orange alert for storms, and numerous areas were hit by power outages and transport chaos.