Swathe of destruction Man severely injured as tornado hits NRW

VIERSEN · A tornado has caused a „swathe of destruction“ in the Lower Rhine region on Wednesday night. Houses were made uninhabitable. At least one person was severely injured.

A tornado has caused a „swathe of destruction“ in the Lower Rhine region on Wednesday night around 6pm. Houses were made uninhabitable. At least one person was severely injured.

In Schaag (Nettetal), a tree fell on a car and severely injured a man. „In Viersen-Boisheim houses were damaged so badly that they are temporarily uninhabitable“, according to a district spokesperson.

The A61 between the Dutch border and Mönchengladbach was closed for several hours. On a country road between Schwalmtal-Dilkrath and Viersen-Boisheim several trees fell onto cars. The roads into Boisheim were all closed. In Nettetal, a fire fighter was injured because of an electric shock.

As the Bonn weather service Wetter Online reports, this was one of the biggest tornadoes in recent years in Germany. Every year there are between 40 and 60 tornados. In „ideal“ conditions they can become similarly strong as in the United States of America.

According to first reports, roofs were blown off many houses and trees were uprooted in Viersen too. The „Rheinische Post“ has reported the tornado first. According to police reports the storm took place in a mere 10-15 minutes.

(Original text: dpa, Translation: Mareike Graepel)

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