Violent tornado devastates southern France: 41 injured and 300 houses damaged, historic city of Carcassonne evacuated

The south of France yesterday afternoon was shocked by a highly rotating super storm cell that generated a whirlwind of rare violence that hit the Aude department, hitting Pomas and nearby towns such as Couffoulens and the Minervois area with destructive fury. The provisional toll speaks of 41 injured, of which 15 hospitalized, including a pregnant woman overwhelmed by the collapse of her home. The gusts of wind, which reached 117 km/h, uprooted roofs, knocked down walls and razed several houses to the ground, leaving a trail of rubble and over 300 damaged buildings.

These are scenes that until a few years ago we would have automatically associated with distant states like Texas. And yet all this closely concerns Europe, where extreme phenomena are increasingly frequent.

The fury of the vortex on Pomas and the response of the rescue services

The alarm was raised around 5pm, when storm chasers and radar intercepted the formation of a pronounced wall cloud. In just a few minutes, the air monster unloaded on the municipality of Pomas, causing the destruction of infrastructure, cars and centuries-old trees. The Aude Prefecture immediately activated the Departmental Operations Center, mobilizing more than 120 firefighters and rescue workers to dig through the debris, check for any missing persons and provide first aid to the shocked population.

Record hail and the evacuation of the City of Carcassonne

The impact of the mesocyclonic system was not limited to tornado blasts. The storm dumped an exceptional hailstorm on the surrounding countryside with hailstones up to 5 centimeters in diameter. In Castelnaudary, 30 millimeters of rain were recorded in just a quarter of an hour and gusts exceeding 70 km/h, while in the Saissac area the sensors counted over 320 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. Faced with the imminent danger of flash flooding, the Center for National Monuments has ordered the urgent closure and evacuation of the famous Cité of Carcassonne, quickly removing tourists from the walkways and bastions of the medieval fortress.

Chaos on transport and widespread blackout

The damage to the electricity grid is extensive: around 2,800 homes spread across 10 municipalities were left completely in the dark. The passage of the Atlantic storm also paralyzed transport. On the air front, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reported heavy delays and cancellations at Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and airports north of Paris.

The stage on the Col de Mont-Louis of the Vuelta has been cancelled

The passage of the violent storm system in the Aude area also directly impacted the world of sport, forcing the organizers of the Vuelta a España cycling race to make a drastic decision during the third stage between Gruissan-Aude and Font-Romeu. While the runners faced the climb towards the Col de Mont-Louis, less than 20 kilometers from the finish line, a very violent hailstorm with strong winds and suddenly flooded and icy roads made the race completely unusable.

Faced with the obvious danger to the athletes’ safety and after the race leader Tadej Pogačar had already asked everyone to slow down, the race direction and the President of the Commissaires’ Panel stopped the caravan, had the runners take shelter in a hotel and decreed the official cancellation of the stage, neutralizing all the times and points accumulated in the flying finishes and on the GPMs.