A "mini-tornado" struck the town of Mios, on the Arcachon basin, at midday on Saturday, January 31, damaging 300 homes, but causing no injuries, according to firefighters and the prefecture.
"A storm cell crossed the Arcachon basin and headed towards the southeast of the department, passing over Mios," Philippe Caron, a forecaster at Météo France, told AFP.
"Within this storm, we had very localized and very strong winds. We suspect it was a whirlwind phenomenon, like a mini-tornado, impossible to predict," he continued.
This violent gust of wind affected "three districts of Mios", including the city center, "without causing any injuries" over a "band 3 km long and 400 meters wide", said Captain Nicolas Braz, spokesman for the Gironde firefighters.
Roofs torn off, walls collapsed or trees uprooted: around 300 homes were damaged, according to rescue services and the prefecture.
Around one hundred firefighters are mobilized on site.
The municipality has made available a municipal hall to accommodate disaster victims who wish to be housed.
The neighbouring departments of Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are on orange alert for "rain-flooding" for Saturday.
Heavy rains are expected in a context of "saturated soils" in addition to a "yellow level wave-submersion alert that could disrupt the flow" of waterways, according to Météo France.
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