Tornado batters Germany, leaving 50 injured and ten seriously hurt by 80mph winds as trees are uprooted and houses lose their roofs
- Incredible storm left ‘path of destruction’, with people hit by falling roof panels
- ‘Countless’ houses’ roofs were torn off and many trees remain on top of cars
- Rainfall up to 25L per square metre each hour, with storms causing huge damage
- Torrid conditions set to hit east of the country overnight after assaults on west
- German Green Party: ‘The climate crisis is not taking a break’
A tornado tearing through Germany has injured more than 50 people and sent at least ten to hospital with serious injuries.
Winds of up to 80mph struck western city Paderborn earlier today, levelling a furniture store.
The tornado also caused significant damage in the city in the North Rhine-Westphalia state, a police spokesperson told AFP after abnormally high temperatures for the time of year.
Security forces said many roofs were blown off and trees uprooted in the surrounding area.
Left and right: incredible video shows the incredible strong winds batter western Germany
Meanwhile in southern region Central Franconia, a wooden hut collapsed, injured 14 people including children.
One woman, 37, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
The tourists in Spalt had sought shelter from the approaching storm in the approximately 85 square meter hut, which then tilted to the side and collapsed.
Photos shared on social media showed cars in Paderborn had been upturned.
Chunks of trees hit cars and injured people, police said as roofs flew off houses
Railway travel was disrupted, as police called on people to remain indoors.
German meteorological services had put out a storm warning for Friday and predicted gales of up to 130km/h (80mph) in some places.
The bad weather first hit the west of the country and was set to travel eastwards later in the evening.
German band Rammstein also stopped a gig in Leipzig, east Germany as an arena announcer told concertgoers to seek shelter urgently amid a storm.
More than 40,000 fans in the Red Bull Arena took cover for 15 minutes before the band were able to continue.
A Green Party MP tweeted: ‘A reminder that the climate crisis will not take a break and that extreme weather will continue to increase.’
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