According to the prefecture of the département of Aude, the tornado struck late on Monday afternoon, at 5.20 pm, in particular in Pomas, a village of around 1,000 inhabitants located between Carcassonne and Limoux.
Numerous videos posted on social media show a powerful vortex of wind moving through several communes in the département under stormy skies.
The prefecture of Aude is now reporting "26 people with non-life-threatening injuries, who have been treated and passed through the casualty assembly point, including five people evacuated to a hospital." Among them is a pregnant woman, injured when her house collapsed but protected by her sofa.
Damage to property is extensive. Around a hundred homes have been affected in Pomas, with many roofs ripped off and houses blown apart.
More than 115 firefighters have been deployed, including 14 urban search and rescue specialists, accompanied by a dog-handling team. The Red Cross is also due to reinforce the operation.
To accommodate residents who cannot return to their homes, two emergency shelters have been opened for the night, in Pomas and Limoux.
The gendarmes, for their part, are to carry out regular patrols in the affected areas to secure damaged properties.
The severe weather has also disrupted traffic. Several departmental roads have been closed after trees fell and to allow the emergency services to intervene.
At 7.30 pm, 2,800 households in around ten communes in Aude were still without electricity.
The tornado struck as parts of south-west France were under an orange alert. Météo France recorded wind gusts of up to 117 km/h. The orange alert was lifted at 7 pm.
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