Urexweiler near St. Wendel
Tornado devastates village in Saarland – video shows the tornado
Residents repair damage after a storm in Urexweiler in Saarland. There, a tornado swept through some streets of the community.
© dpa-Bildfunk / DPA
A strong thunderstorm cell swept across parts of Saarland on Thursday, resulting in a tornado. The tornado swept through a village with great force. A video documents the weather phenomenon.
The media in the region are writing about a tornado, and in the meantime weather expert Jörg Kachelmann has also confirmed that such a tornado actually swept through Urexweiler, a district of Marpingen, on Thursday afternoon. The tornado in the village near St. Wendel can be clearly seen in a video on Kachelmann’s Twitter channel. According to Kachelmann, the recordings were made available to him by the Marpingen volunteer fire brigade.
How bad the damage is can also be seen on the Facebook page of this fire brigade, which has posted several photos from the village: The pictures show broken and partially covered roofs or parts of trees that the storm has blown around. But numerous helpers can also be seen who have rushed to the community since Thursday.
A few minutes were enough on Thursday afternoon to leave such a path of devastation in their wake,” reports the fire brigade. According to consistent information, no one was injured.
Tornado in Saarland caused damage in several streets
The tornado raged in several streets, according to reports. The destruction is locally very limited, as is usual with tornadoes. Because the weather phenomenon causes damage where the “trunk” of the tornado hits the ground, as Dominik Eder from the Saar weather station explained according to the “Bild” newspaper.
The roofs of several houses were covered, according to the “Bild” newspaper and the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”, among other things, but how many there were was still unclear on Friday. The dangerous weather conditions began on Thursday around 2.40 p.m. with thunderstorms and heavy rain.
The storm didn’t last long, but the destruction is so extensive that the clean-up work continued on Friday. A number of trees fell, cars and houses were demolished, window panes shattered.
More than 50 houses are believed to have been damaged
Damage from the thunderstorm with gusts of wind was recorded in three towns, the German Press Agency quoted a police spokesman as saying on Friday morning.
According to “Bild”, more than 50 houses, some of which have been destroyed, are now assumed in the region. Some residents have not yet been allowed to return to their homes because it is not clear how badly their homes are damaged.
Sources: Marpingen Volunteer Fire Department on Facebook, tile man weather, “Bild” newspaper“Saarbruecker newspaper“