This is the dramatic moment a storm blew branches onto electricity cables causing an explosion - inches from cars travelling below.

Footage shows the torrential weather battering the road lined with coconut and other trees in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand on April 24.

Some of the boughs with leaves were torn off by the gust and hit the cables which sparked and exploded. The passing cars and the drivers were unhurt but residents had a power cut.

The filmer said the local government cleared away the debris once the storm had passed. Technicians from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) later arrived to fix the power cables.

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.