Tornado tears through French village, leaving dozens hurt and homes ravaged

A violent tornado ripped through Pomas, a small village south of Carcassonne in southwestern France, on Monday night, injuring 39 people and battering an estimated 300 homes. Fifteen patients were taken to hospital, two of whom are in critical condition. One resident reported that his pregnant wife was injured when a fallen roof struck her, and the village’s historic stone castle suffered a partial collapse despite its age‑proven masonry.

Authorities say winds reached 117 km/h (73 mph), tearing roofs and uprooting trees. Over 120 emergency workers were dispatched to the scene, underscoring the scale of the damage—the village’s half‑town territory was described by locals as “a huge red and yellow chimney.”

The tornado coincided with a severe hailstorm that halted stage 3 of the Vuelta a España racing event midway through the Aude region. Riders were forced to seek refuge 15 km from the finish line as large hailstones fell, prompting the race organisers to cancel the remaining 174 km of the stage. The blaze is part of a broader heatwave that has scorched 42,000 hectares of forests in France’s southwest.

French authorities issued an orange alert across the southwest for thunderstorms, resulting in power outages and flight delays at Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and northern Paris airports. The country experiences several dozen tornadoes annually, but this outbreak was intense enough to stun residents and damage historic structures alike.

The emergency response continues as local officials monitor the situation, while residents rebuild under an unprecedented weather pattern that Europe continues to grapple with in the wake of extreme heat and wildfires. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the increasing volatility of climate events across the continent.