Powerful tornado in southern France injures 39, devastates village
A strong tornado tore through southwestern France on Monday, injuring 39 people and damaging about 300 homes in the village of Pomas. Two of the injured are in critical condition.
A powerful tornado struck the village of Pomas, near Carcassonne in southwestern France, on Monday, with wind speeds reaching 117 kilometers per hour. The storm injured 39 people, 15 of whom were hospitalized, with two in critical condition. Around 300 homes were damaged as the tornado tore off roofs and destroyed buildings.
More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the area. Local residents described the destruction as near-total. A man named Pierre compared the tornado to a giant red-yellow chimney swirling over the village. Another resident, Chantal, said she heard a huge noise, saw objects flying through the air, and then the roof collapsed on top of her — she no longer has a home.
A historic castle was also damaged, with part of it collapsing despite its stone structure having stood for around a thousand years. About 2,800 households across ten villages were left without electricity. A local authority representative said there was no information about anyone missing.
Impact on sport and travel
Heavy hail forced cyclists in the Vuelta a España race to seek shelter, and a stage in the Aude region was cancelled just 15 kilometers from the finish. Flight delays and cancellations were reported at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and several airports around Paris. An orange weather warning had been issued for the region before the storm hit.
The extreme weather followed a record-hot summer marked by intense heatwaves and widespread wildfires across Europe. Southwestern France was among the hardest-hit areas, where wildfires burned around 42,000 hectares of forest — one of the largest fires in the country since World War II.
