Tornado in southwestern France damages more than 300 homes, injures dozens

A tornado swept through the Aude region of southwestern France late on Monday, damaging more than 300 homes and injuring dozens, authorities said.

Thirty-nine people were injured, including two in critical condition in the village of Pomas, local authorities said. By Tuesday morning some 21,000 households were without power in southern France, including 1,600 in the Aude, local grid operator ENEDIS said.

"A tornado of rare intensity struck the Aude region late yesterday afternoon, severely damaging the village of Pomas," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X.

Social media footage verified by Reuters showed the tornado swirling above the nearby village of Verzeille in Aude, late on Monday. Many of the homes caught up in its path had their windows smashed.

The tornado struck as this summer's intense heatwave gave way this week to thunderstorms in many areas of southern France.

-Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Dominique Vidalon, Editing by Lincoln Feast and Conor Humphries/Reuters