A tornado tore through the village of Pomas in southwestern France, leaving dozens injured and hundreds of homes damaged. Approximately 41 people sustained injuries, with 15 requiring hospitalization. The severe weather event occurred after French authorities had issued an orange alert for storms across the country's southwest, leading to widespread power outages and transportation disruptions.
The village of Pomas, home to about 1,000 residents, was the hardest hit, with an estimated 300 homes suffering damage. Some houses lost their roofs, and debris, including cars and fallen trees, littered the streets, causing several road closures.
Among the injured was a pregnant woman whose home partially collapsed. Her husband told AFP that she was trapped by a falling wall but was protected by a sofa. Her condition and that of her baby remain unknown.
More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the scene. Authorities established two shelters for displaced residents, one in Pomas and another in Limoux. Gendarmes were patrolling the affected areas.
Broader Weather Impact
The tornado was accompanied by intense storms that affected a wider region. In Aude, the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race was canceled due to a hailstorm that forced riders to seek shelter. Hailstones measuring up to 5cm in diameter were reported in nearby areas. An independent weather service, Météo Languedoc, issued a life-threatening warning for the Aude region, which was later lifted.
The national weather service, Meteo-France, recorded wind speeds of up to 73 miles per hour in the nearby village of Arquettes-en-Val. These storms caused significant disruptions to transportation networks across southern France, leading to delayed trains, further road closures, and cancellations at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and even Paris. Approximately 2,800 homes lost electricity across ten villages.
