Tornado Strikes Pomas, 41 Injured
- A tornado struck the village of Pomas in the Aude département of southern France on Monday, injuring 41 people according to local prefecture authorities.
- A pregnant woman was among the injured after her home collapsed, while around 2,800 households across ten villages were temporarily cut off from electricity.
- The third stage of the Vuelta a España, which was passing through the Aude département, was abandoned due to a hailstorm associated with the same weather system.
A tornado tore through the village of Pomas in south-west France on Monday, injuring 41 people, damaging hundreds of homes, and leaving thousands of households temporarily without power, according to the prefecture of the Aude département.
Injuries and destruction in Pomas
Pomas, situated approximately 100 kilometres south-east of Toulouse, bore the brunt of the storm. Among the injured was a pregnant woman who was hurt when her house collapsed around her. Photographs from the scene showed uprooted trees, stripped roofs, and at least one property described by authorities as completely devastated.
Around 2,800 households across ten villages in the area were left without electricity, the authorities confirmed. The broader storm system across southern France disrupted train services, closed roads, and caused flight cancellations at several airports.
Vuelta a España stage abandoned
The disruption extended to professional sport. The third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race, which was passing through the Aude département, was abandoned mid-race after a hailstorm made conditions unrideable. It is unclear whether the stage will be rescheduled or its results declared void.
Context
France experiences several dozen tornadoes each year on average. The Pomas event is among the most damaging in recent memory for the region, though authorities have not yet provided a final assessment of structural losses. Similar severe weather struck parts of Germany in the same period, underlining a broader pattern of intense convective storms across western Europe. The full scale of damage in Pomas, and the precise number of homes affected, remained subject to ongoing assessment at the time of reporting.
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