A devastating tornado tore through the picturesque southwestern village of Pomas in France, leaving over three dozen individuals injured and hundreds of homes destroyed. The incident occurred on Monday, with winds reaching 117km/h (73mph) causing extensive damage to approximately 300 houses. The extreme weather event has resulted in about 2,800 homes across ten villages losing electricity. The third stage of the Vuelta a España cycle race had to be cancelled due to a hail storm that forced riders to seek shelter before reaching the finish line. Witnesses described the tornado as a swirling vortex resembling "a huge red and yellow chimney," with one resident likening it to a massive, collapsing castle. French authorities had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms in large parts of the country's southwest, which have already been experiencing power outages and transport disruptions. Remarkably, no reports of missing individuals have surfaced as of yet. This unfortunate event comes after Europe's record-breaking summer of heatwaves and wildfires, with France's south-west region being one of the worst affected regions, having experienced an area of 42,000 hectares burnt in one of the largest forest fires since World War Two. Flight delays and cancellations have been reported at airports across Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and north of Paris due to the adverse weather conditions. France typically experiences several dozen tornadoes annually according to Météo-France, the country's national weather service. If it is safe to do so, please contact us via this link or the form below for further information on this catastrophic event.