Tornado ravages southeast France, leaving hundreds of homes damaged

Two people were in critical condition and thousands of households were without power on Tuesday after a "tornado of severe intensity" wreaked havoc in southern France.

The tornado, which swept through the Aude department on Monday, hit the village of Pomas hardest, damaging around 300 homes and injuring 39 people, two severely. "Search and inspection operations are still under way, involving 75 firefighters supported by specialist reinforcement teams," the prefecture said.