A tornado hit the village of Pomas in the Aude department of southwestern France on August 24, causing widespread destruction and injuries in the late afternoon and evening [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The storm injured between 39 and 41 people, with 15 hospitalized, including two in critical condition [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

The tornado damaged about 300 homes in Pomas, some reporting over 300, tearing roofs off houses, breaking windows, uprooting trees, and destroying the town hall and local school [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Winds reached speeds up to 117 km/h (73 mph) in the affected area [2, 3, 6].

The village, home to roughly 1,000 people, was severely hit, with residents saying about half of it was destroyed. Pierre, a local, said, "Half the village has been destroyed... There's a huge castle and a third of it has collapsed - even though these are stones that have stood for 1,000 years" [2]. Another resident, Chantal, described the moment she felt her roof collapse, "I heard this massive noise... then I saw everything flying around in the air and my roof collapsed over my head... I've got no house left, that's for sure... I was really scared. I thought that's it, this my final hour" [2].

Power was knocked out to about 2,800 households across 10 nearby villages initially, though some reports note as many as 21,000 households in southern France without electricity on August 25, including 1,600 in Aude [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Major transport disruptions hit the region, leading to cancellation of the third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race in Aude, road closures, delayed trains, and flight cancellations at airports across Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, and Paris [2, 3, 6].

Authorities deployed over 120 emergency workers to assist with rescue and recovery operations [2, 3, 6]. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez commented, "A tornado of rare intensity struck the Aude region late yesterday afternoon, severely damaging the village of Pomas" [4]. Pomas Mayor Herve Gine said, "We were bombed by nature... People are in shock... [some] have lost everything... It was a 'miracle' that no one had died" [7]. Local sub-prefect Emmanuelle Plantier-Lemarchand added, "I was not aware of anyone missing" [2].

The tornado followed intense summer heatwaves and was accompanied by thunderstorms and hail [2, 4, 5, 8, 9]. French meteorological service Météo-France noted that while France sees several dozen tornadoes annually, they are generally milder than those in the US [2, 3, 8].

By August 25, approximately 7,250 households remained without power in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, including 1,600 in Aude, as recovery and damage assessments continued [4, 5, 7].