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A tornado has torn through the French village of Pomas in the country’s south-west, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes.
Local authorities said 15 people were taken to hospital, including a pregnant woman who was injured after her house collapsed on her, according to AFP news agency.
More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the scene after winds reaching 117km/h (73mph) ripped roofs off houses and damaged an estimated 300 homes on Monday.
French authorities issued an orange alert for thunderstorms in large parts of the country’s south-west, which have already been hit by power outages and transport disruptions.
AFP via Getty ImagesThe extreme weather has left about 2,800 homes across 10 villages without electricity, according to officials.
Authorities in the Aude department in south-west France cancelled the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in the area after a hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced riders to seek shelter.
Eyewitness footage from the region captured the swirling vortex of the tornado looming in the horizon above houses and trees.
Images from the small village of Pomas, which was the hardest hit, showed uprooted trees, damaged cars and rubble from destroyed homes.
Meanwhile there were flight delays and cancellations at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and north of Paris to the north, said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.
On average, France experiences several dozen tornadoes per year, according to the country’s national weather service Météo-France.
It comes after Europe’s summer of unprecedented heatwaves and wildfires, with France’s south-west region among the worst affected with an area of 42,000 hectares burnt in one of the largest forest fires since World War Two.
AFP via Getty ImagesFranceTornadoesSevere weatherEurope
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