Normandy villages hit by freak violent hailstorms
Villages in Normandy, northern France were hit by freak hailstorms on Thursday night that left some houses partially buried in hail stones. Several families were forced to leave their homes.
Early on Thursday night France’s Meteorological service Météo France issued last minute alerts to authorities in parts of Normandy warning them to expect some rough weather.
A few hours later Pascal Laleman, the mayor of the little village of Auvillars, found his garage and basement blocked by a two metre-high drift of hailstones.
In the village of Bonnebosq, near the town of Lisieux, 10 houses were left damaged by flooding from the storm..
“It came so quickly,” one villager told Ouest-France. “It was over in around 10 minutes, no more. The water came down like a torrent. We have never seen anything like it before".
Local authorities said they would report the incident as a “natural disaster”, which would enable those affected to get compensation from the state.
The photo below from the Ouest-France news site shows the wall of hail that the left garage of one home completely blocked.
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Early on Thursday night France’s Meteorological service Météo France issued last minute alerts to authorities in parts of Normandy warning them to expect some rough weather.
A few hours later Pascal Laleman, the mayor of the little village of Auvillars, found his garage and basement blocked by a two metre-high drift of hailstones.
In the village of Bonnebosq, near the town of Lisieux, 10 houses were left damaged by flooding from the storm..
“It came so quickly,” one villager told Ouest-France. “It was over in around 10 minutes, no more. The water came down like a torrent. We have never seen anything like it before".
Local authorities said they would report the incident as a “natural disaster”, which would enable those affected to get compensation from the state.
The photo below from the Ouest-France news site shows the wall of hail that the left garage of one home completely blocked.
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