Flying roofs, power lines torn off, tree falls, campsites evacuated: the violent storms that crossed the 26 departments of eastern and central France, placed in orange vigil Friday, caused damage without causing injuries. The most impressive phenomenon was the passage of a tornado in the north of Meurthe-et-Moselle Friday at 18 hours, where firefighters made about sixty interventions.
Spectacular images of the #tornade that hit the north of Meurthe-et-Moselle and south-west of Luxembourg shortly before 18h! Video from Petange. (https://t.co/P1praY7xKq) pic.twitter.com/36rFa73HPn
- Weather Express (@MeteoExpress) August 9, 2019 "Thirty houses were damaged in Longwy and Herserange, two neighboring municipalities, and the roof of a school in Longwy was particularly degraded," according to the prefecture, stating that there had been no injuries.
The tornado continued its course in Luxembourg, with gusts of wind reaching 128 km / hour, according to the meteorological services of the Grand Duchy. Seven people were injured, one seriously, and about 100 homes were damaged with torn roofs.
Gusts of wind reaching 100 km / h
Météo-France had placed 26 departments, ranging from Haute-Garonne to the Ardennes, in orange vigil because of a risk of "violent" storms. Saturday morning, no more departments were concerned by the weather alert.
These storms caused heavy rainfall, hail, and wind gusts, often between 80 and 100 km / h. North of Bitche, Moselle, a gust exceeded 150 km / h.
A line of thunderstorms had developed rapidly after 18 hours from the Haute-Garonne, extending as far as the Ain and Jura with heavy showers of 20 to 30 mm in one hour in places and even 60 mm on a large area of Bresse, had detailed Weather-France.
A hundred interventions for firefighters in Ain
In the Ain, the storms were particularly intense in the west of the department. According to the prefecture, the firefighters have handled 400 calls and made about a hundred interventions in about sixty communes.Entre Mâcon and Bourg-en-Bresse, falling trees, damaged roofs, fences and collapsed walls were found. Major power cuts were being processed by Enedis services on Saturday between Mâcon and Montrevel-en-Bresse.
In the Nièvre, firefighters intervened for a hundred operations of protection and sheeting on the basin of Saint-Eloi, where the church and a medical office were particularly affected. Divers were mobilized in the Nivernais canal because of branches and electric cables fallen into the water.
An evacuated campsite in Caraman
Further south, the two episodes of violent thunderstorms that swept Toulouse and its region Friday night, and then into the night, triggered 400 calls to the fire services of Haute-Garonne, which were solicited a hundred times. The town of Fontenilles, whose town hall launched on Twitter a call for solidarity to help clean up, was the most affected, with many trees felled in its park, while twenty residents of a campsite have were evacuated to Caraman, said the firefighters. The lightning also caused the fire of a roof in Azas.
The weather also affected the Aveyron but with "very localized" damage according to firefighters, mostly in the town of Saint-Côme-d'Olt where many trees were cut down and about twenty holidaymakers evacuated municipal campsite.