Mini tornado lifts up car and flips it over in south-west France

A ‘mini-tornado’ with gusts of up to 120 km/h hit a town in the south-west of France on Tuesday evening, causing damage to a number of buildings - and flipping over a parked car.

The tornado formed around 17:00 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne) hitting the town’s stadium before passing through the nearby Rooy business district.

It covered a distance of around 500 metres before it dissipated.

“The tornado passed in front of my feet. I thought I was going to go with it,” said one resident to local news outlet Sud Ouest. He was near the stadium when the tornado formed.

“Fear went right through me. It was a phenomenal thing,” he added.

Nobody was injured, but some buildings were damaged and a parked car was flipped over.

The lieutenant-colonel of the local fire brigade David Graffeuille said more than 30 firefighters were called out to the scene.

Some photos of the damage – including to the stadium and nearby warehouses – were shared by the town’s social media pages.

Tornadoes are rare in France, but do happen, lasting for less than a minute but still able to cause serious damage.

Read more: VIDEO: Tornado uproots trees in small town in southern France

Read more: North west France tornado: around 40 such phenomena a year in country

Natural disaster recognition

The town’s mayor Guillaume Lepers said the town will submit a request for natural disaster recognition, to help companies with insurance claims.

Read more: France’s ‘catastrophe naturelle’ insurance system: how to claim

He added that the town would help businesses impacted with their insurance claims.

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