Tornado tears through French village leaving dozens injured
The south-western village of Pomas was hardest hit, with hundreds of homes damaged and fifteen people taken to hospital.
A tornado ripped through the village of Pomas in southwestern France, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of residences.
According to AFP news agency, local officials reported that 15 individuals were hospitalized, among them a pregnant woman whose home collapsed on her.
On Monday, winds reaching 117 km/h (73 mph) tore roofs off houses and damaged an estimated 300 homes. Over 120 emergency personnel were dispatched to the site.
French authorities had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms across much of the southwest, an area already experiencing power outages and transportation disruptions. Officials stated that approximately 2,800 homes across 10 villages were left without electricity due to the severe weather.
In the Aude department of southwestern France, authorities canceled the third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race after a hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced riders to take cover.
Eyewitness video from the region showed the tornado's swirling vortex on the horizon, towering over houses and trees. Photographs from Pomas, the most severely affected village, depicted uprooted trees, damaged vehicles, and debris from demolished homes.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot noted flight delays and cancellations at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and north of Paris.
Météo-France, the national weather service, indicates that France typically experiences several dozen tornadoes annually.
This event follows a summer of unprecedented heatwaves and wildfires in Europe. Southwestern France was among the hardest-hit regions, with 42,000 hectares burned in one of the largest forest fires since World War Two. France recorded 2,025 excess deaths during the peak of the heatwave as Europe prepares for more extreme weather. Satellite images revealed Europe's scorched landscapes after the summer heatwaves.