Hundreds of damaged homes, widespread power cuts and blocked roads confronted residents of southwestern France on Tuesday after a tornado tore through the village of Pomas, injuring 39 people, two of them critically.
The tornado struck Pomas, a village of around 1,000 people in the Aude department, on Monday afternoon, damaging an estimated 300 homes and ripping roofs from some buildings.
More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the scene. Fifteen of the injured were taken to hospital.
They included a pregnant woman who was hurt when her house collapsed on her, her husband told French news agency AFP.
Extensive damage
"There are no roof tiles left, no roofs at all," Pomas resident Fabien told Franceinfo. "Houses with an upper floor have lost it. I wouldn't even know how to describe it to you; it’s just so hard to believe."
"Half the village is destroyed," Pierre, a resident of the neighbouring town of Rouffiac, told public broadcaster ICI Occitanie. "I was driving back from Carcassonne and saw what looked like a huge chimney, with debris flying through the air – it was an incredible sight."
France's national weather service, Météo-France, said winds had reached up to 117 kilometres per hour in the nearby village of Arquettes-en-Val.
Officials cancelled the third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race, which was being held in the area, after a hailstorm forced riders to seek shelter.
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Transport chaos
Storms across southern France disrupted transport, delaying trains, forcing road closures and causing delays and cancellations at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and Paris, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.
Around 1,400 households were still without electricity on Tuesday morning.
Several departmental roads in Aude also remained closed because of fallen trees, with the prefecture urging motorists to check for updates.
France sees several dozen tornadoes a year on average. The impact of global warming on their frequency and intensity remains unclear, Météo-France said.
(with newswires)
