Tornado Hits a Small Village in France
Many houses are broken. 39 people are hurt.
A tornado hit a small village in France on Monday.
The village is called Pomas. It is in the south-west of France.
The wind was very strong. It was 117 kilometres per hour.
The tornado damaged about 300 houses. 39 people were hurt. 15 people went to hospital.
More than 120 emergency workers came to help.
About 2,800 homes in the area have no electricity now.
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Tornado Damages Hundreds of Homes in French Village
The village of Pomas in south-west France was hit hardest. 39 people were injured.
A tornado hit the village of Pomas in the south-west of France on Monday. It injured 39 people and damaged around 300 homes.
The wind reached 117 kilometres per hour (73 miles per hour). It pulled the roofs off houses and knocked down trees. One resident said that half of the village was destroyed.
Fifteen people were taken to hospital, and two of them were in a serious condition. More than 120 emergency workers went to the village to help.
About 2,800 homes in ten villages lost their electricity. Flights were also delayed or cancelled at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse.
France has several dozen tornadoes every year, according to the national weather service. This summer, the south-west of France also had very hot weather and large forest fires.
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Tornado Tears Through French Village, Injuring 39 and Damaging 300 Homes
Pomas, near Carcassonne, was the hardest-hit village as violent storms swept across south-west France.
A tornado swept through the village of Pomas in south-west France on Monday, injuring 39 people and damaging an estimated 300 homes. Fifteen people were taken to hospital, and two were reported to be in a critical condition.
Winds reaching 117 km/h (73 mph) tore roofs off houses and uprooted trees in the village, which lies south of Carcassonne. More than 120 emergency workers were sent to the area. One resident told local radio that half the village had been destroyed, and that part of a castle that had stood for a thousand years had collapsed.
The storms caused disruption far beyond Pomas. Around 2,800 homes across ten villages were left without electricity, and there were flight delays and cancellations at airports including Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. A stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race, which was passing through the region, had to be cancelled when a hailstorm forced the riders to take shelter.
France experiences several dozen tornadoes in a typical year, according to the national weather service Météo-France. The storm came at the end of a summer in which the south-west of the country suffered record heatwaves and one of its largest forest fires since the Second World War.
Authorities had issued an orange weather alert for thunderstorms across much of the south-west before the tornado struck. Officials said they were not aware of anyone missing.
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