According to government representatives, 15 people were taken to the hospital, two of whom are in critical condition. One man reported that his pregnant wife was injured when their house collapsed on her.
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More than 120 rescuers were sent to the village located south of Carcassonne. On Monday, as wind gusts reached speeds of 117 km/h, the storm tore off roofs of houses – it is estimated that about 300 buildings were damaged.
“Half the village is destroyed,” said local resident Pierre, describing the tornado as a spinning “huge red and yellow chimney.”
“There is a huge castle standing there, a third of which has collapsed, even though these stones have stood for a thousand years,” Pierre told the channel “Ici Occitanie.”
The third stage of the multi-day cycling race “Vuelta a España,” held in the Odo department in southwestern France, had to be stopped when athletes were forced to seek shelter about 15 km from the finish line due to the hailstorm that started.
Officials said that due to extreme weather conditions, about 2,800 households in ten villages were left without electricity.
“I no longer have a home, that’s a fact”
Local sub-prefect Emmanuelle Plantier-Lemarchand told French radio that she had no information about missing persons. She revised the number of injured from 41 to 39 and added that 15 of them required hospital treatment.
“I heard a huge noise… then I saw everything flying in the air, and my roof collapsed,” shocked local resident Chantal told French radio. “I no longer have a home, that’s a fact.”
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French authorities had issued an orange thunderstorm warning for a large part of the southwest of the country, where it has already caused power outages and transport disruptions.
Uprooted trees, damaged cars, and house ruins
Footage recorded by witnesses shows a spinning tornado funnel towering over houses and trees on the horizon.
Images from the hardest-hit village of Pomas revealed the scale of the disaster: uprooted trees, damaged cars, and house ruins, notes the BBC.
Check if flights are canceled
Meanwhile, there were delayed and canceled flights at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and north of Paris, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reported.
According to data from the country’s national weather service “Météo-France,” France records an average of several dozen tornadoes per year.
This disaster occurred after a summer of unprecedented heatwaves and forest fires that scorched Europe. The southwest region of France was hit hardest: 42,000 hectares burned – one of the largest forest fires since World War II.
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