The village of Bihucourt near Bapaume (Pas-de-Calais) was devastated by bad weather, reports France Bleu Nord on Sunday October 23. The town was hit by a thunderstorm and what looks like a small tornado at the end of the day. Dozens of roofs flew away. According to the mayor of the village Benoît-Vincent Caille, “there was a storm, a tornado that ravaged almost the entire village.“
“Some houses are razed, collapsed, there are torn roofs. The church is partly destroyed.”
Benoît-Vincent Caille, Mayor of Bihucourtat franceinfo
The prefecture has activated a crisis unit, and the prefect is going there. Still according to the mayor of Bapaume, nearly half of the inhabitants of the village should be relocated. It is not known at this time whether the bad weather caused any injuries.
Another department of Hauts-de-France affected by storms: the Somme. Rain, hail and strong winds caused a lot of damage, reports France Bleu Picardie. Several roads are blocked and firefighters call for caution. In the department, the sectors of Amiens and Conty are particularly affected without it being yet possible to make an assessment. Several Internet users have posted photos showing hail.
The East and the North of France suffered heavy storms. Several towns in Pas-de-Calais affected by a tornado, causing significant damage. Violent bad weather in the Somme.
Solidarity with the inhabitants of the affected municipalities. @Prefect62 and @ prefect80 are on site.— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 23, 2022
More specifically, the city of Conty was crossed by a mini-tornado from north to south, causing heavy material damage in its path, according to France Bleu. A dozen families will spend the night from Sunday to Monday in the village hall of Conty after the roofs of their homes were torn off. The prefect of the Somme, Etienne Stoskopf, went there in the evening. 45 firefighters and gendarmes are deployed on site and will spend the night there to secure the premises.
Finally, in Eure – placed this afternoon on yellow vigilance for thunderstorms – bad weather caused material damage, reports France Bleu Normandie. Roofs were torn off due to storms. The firefighters have identified around thirty interventions in the Pont-Audemer-Beuzeville sector.
⚠️ Heavy weather hit the areas of Beuzeville and Pont-Audemer. The departments of the Department are mobilized alongside the @sdis27 and some @Gendarmerie_027to deal with the numerous damages and secure the departmental roads.
— Department of Eure (@EureenNormandie) October 23, 2022