Tornado in France injures 41 people, damages hundreds of homes
Winds are estimated to have reached 73 mph.
A tornado tore through a village in southwestern France on Monday, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes, authorities said.
French authorities had placed swaths of the country's southwest on orange alert for storms, and numerous areas were hit with power outages and the disruption of transportation.
In the Aude region, officials canceled the third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race, which was being held in the area, when a hailstorm forced riders to seek shelter.
The tornado hit hardest in the village of Pomas, with a population of 1,000, damaging an estimated 300 homes, in some cases ripping their roofs off.
More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the scene, local authorities said, and 15 of the injured were taken to a hospital.
They included a pregnant woman who was hurt when her house collapsed on her, her husband told AFP.