Northern French winds blow off roofs and cut power: On Monday, officials claimed that tornado-like storms in northern France destroyed a church roof, trees, and power wires, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The Pas-de-Calais regional office reported one minor injury and 150 evacuations during Sunday’s storms.
Images circulated online showed ominous clouds above farms suddenly rotating as things shot into the air. The winds destroyed the bell tower and portions of the village church’s roof at Bihucourt.
Along with trees and electrical wires, roadside debris included roof beams and tiles. Bihucourt, Ervillers, and Hendecourt-Les-Cagnicourt were the targets of “tornado-type” gusts, according to the Pas-de-Calais fireman service.
Benoit-Vincent Caille, the mayor of Bihucourt, said on public television station France-Info that the storm “destroyed almost the whole of the town… Some houses demolish, collapsed, and had roofs torn off.
The church has lost some of its structure. Local officials in the French towns of County and O-de-Selle said that strong winds damaged about 60 homes and other buildings.
And that residents move about 70 kilometers (40 miles) to the south. Strong winds also hit Belgium and the Netherlands, but no significant damage was reported.