A power line goes up in flames along a hillside as the Cocos Fire continues to burn in San Marcos, California May 15, 2014. Wildfires were raging in southern California on Thursday, keeping thousands of residents and students away from their homes after S
A power line goes up in flames along a hillside as the Cocos Fire continues to burn in San Marcos, California May 15, 2014. Wildfires were raging in southern California on Thursday, keeping thousands of residents and students away from their homes after San Diego county officials maintained evacuation advisories. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)
A power line goes up in flames along a hillside as the Cocos Fire continues to burn in San Marcos, California May 15, 2014. Wildfires were raging in southern California on Thursday, keeping thousands of residents and students away from their homes after San Diego county officials maintained evacuation advisories. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)

At least four people have died after a monster sandstorm and record winds struck Iran, overwhelming the capital of Iran in darkness on Monday.

The freak weather (video here) which carried winds of 110 kilometers per hour (70mph) damaged buildings, toppled down power lines, snapped trees and swept debris across streets.

At least 50,000 homes lost their connection to power lines. The strong weather broke residential and office building windows. Telecommunication towers fell down as well as masonry from tall buildings.

Photos posted on social media showed a huge sand cloud soaking the city's skyline and then it turned dark. Temperatures then dropped from 33 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees.

"It was a horrifying storm and suddenly everywhere went dark," a shopkeeper in Tehran told AP news agency. "I closed my store's shutters to prevent damage. [A] big tree broke and knocked in the windows, shattering them."

Apart from the reported fatalities, Amin Saberinia, Iran's chief emergency official, said at least 27 others were injured.

"This is like an apocalyptic Hollywood movie. I'm scared," a woman who ran into a shop to escape the gales told AFP.

"I've never seen anything like this. I was afraid it was an omen of things to come," another said.

AP reported the freak weather (video here) likewise forced domestic airline companies to divert their flights to central Iran.

The total number of deaths is unclear. Iranian state television said the weather killed five, while state-run Irna news agency reported four.

Ahad Vazifeh, in charge of government weather forecasts, advised residents to brace for more bad weather through Wednesday.