A violent tornado struck the village of Bomas in the Oude department, southwestern France, injuring dozens of people and causing extensive damage to hundreds of homes, while the severe storms that swept several areas of the south of the country led to power outages and disruption of train, air, and road traffic.
According to the latest toll from local authorities, 41 people were injured as a result of the hurricane, 15 of whom were taken to hospital, including a pregnant woman who was injured after part of her house collapsed on her. The authorities explained that the woman was trapped under the rubble of a wall, while a sofa near her helped protect her from more serious injuries.
The hurricane struck the village of Bomas, located between Carcassonne and Limmo, with a population of about 1,000 people, at around 17:20 on the evening of Monday, August 24, after it formed under a “supercell” thunderstorm, which is one of the types of thunderstorms most capable of generating violent air vortexes.
The field toll showed that about 300 homes were damaged, and the roofs of a number of them were uprooted, in addition to falling trees, car crashes, and major damage to a number of buildings, while emergency teams began operations to secure the most damaged homes to avoid the risk of their collapse.
The authorities sent more than 120 members of the fire and rescue teams to the village, including specialists in search and rescue within the affected areas, and shelter centers were also opened to receive residents who were unable to return to their homes due to the extent of the damage.
The repercussions of the weather conditions were not limited to Bomas, as the storms led to a power outage in about 2,800 homes distributed among 10 villages in the region, while the electricity company teams worked to restore power and address the faults that befell the network.
The French Meteorological Service recorded winds of 117 kilometers per hour in the neighboring village of Arquette-en-Val, while the Aude department was among the areas placed under the orange alert level due to the expectation of strong storms accompanied by heavy rain, strong winds and hail.
The storms also caused widespread disruptions in the transportation network, including train delays and road closures, in addition to delays and cancellations of flights at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and Paris, according to what French Transport Minister Philippe Tabaro announced.
The repercussions of the violent weather extended to the “Vuelta a España” cycling race, as the organizers canceled the third stage, which extended for a distance of 174 kilometers between Gruissant in Aude and Fond Romeu, after a strong hailstorm surprised the competitors about 15 kilometers before the finish line and forced them to stop and take cover, before making a decision to cancel the stage for safety reasons.
Tornadoes are a phenomenon present in France, although they are less common and weaker in most cases than those recorded in other regions of the world. According to the French Meteorological Service, mainland France experiences an average of a few dozen tornadoes per year, most of which are of limited intensity and short-lived.
The Meteorological Authority explains that the diameter of a hurricane in France usually ranges between tens and hundreds of meters, while its path extends over a few kilometers, and its life rarely lasts more than 15 minutes. The most violent tornadoes can also form within supercell thunderstorms, known as “supercells,” as a result of strong wind rotation within the thundercell.
Damage assessments and building safety assessments are continuing in Bomas, in conjunction with efforts to restore electricity, secure damaged homes, and open roads affected by the storm.
