Tornado Devastates French Village: Dozens Injured and Hundreds of Homes Left Roofless

THIS is the terrifying moment a huge tornado sweeps through southern France injuring over 40 people and destroying more than 300 homes.

A supercell thunderstorm sparked the wild as it struck the town of Pomas with wind speeds of over 73mph uprooting trees and blowing roofs off houses.

A pregnant woman was among the injured after her house collapsed when she was inside.

She was found hiding under an overturned sofa which was buried beneath a collapsed wall, said.

The woman was rushed to hospital with the condition of her baby unknown.

The local Aude region was under an amber alert for most of Monday evening as stormy skies descended across southern .

Several roads were closed as heavy traffic remained late into the evening due to the dozens of fallen trees and debris.

Around 2,800 homes were left without electricity from 7.30pm until late in the towns of Fontcouverte, Camplong, Souilhe, Raissac d’Aude, Fabrezan, Montmaur, Soupex, Ricaud, Montclar and La Pomarède.

Emergency services were under intense strain as they received hundreds of calls from civilians warning of injuries and destruction.

Over 120 firefighters were mobilised along with the Red Cross and canine units hunting for any missing people.

The local prefecture said shortly after 10.30pm: “The material assessment indicates that 300 homes were affected.

“Forty one people were taken care of and had passed through the victim assembly point, including 15 people evacuated to a hospital.”

Many of the homes caught in the tornado’s path had their windows smashed and roofs blown off.

Search and rescue operations continued long into the night as the remained stormy.

Two shelters were opened up for displaced victims in Pomas and Limoux.

There were also major flight delays and cancellations at airports in , Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and north of Paris, said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.

High winds reached up to 73mph in the village of Arquettes-en-Val, according to France’s national weather service, Meteo-France.

France averages several dozen tornadoes each year, which vary in intensity but are typically not deadly, Météo France reports.

The wet and windy weather comes just weeks after a summer of .

France’s south-west region saw an area of 42,000 hectares burnt in one of the largest forest fires since World War Two.

Across the whole of the country, an estimated 224,000 people had to flee their homes due to multiple raging wildfires.

Across in Spain, a dozen as waterfront restaurants were left flooded.

Elsewhere in Europe, extreme rain and winds hit Poland and Italy.

A strong cyclone ravaged Forlì in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, with winds reaching around 75mph.

Wild footage shows extreme gusts of wind flipping over four planes at an airport as witnesses recalled the aircrafts being .