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November 5, 2024
Czech tornado: 3 killed as rare storm hits villages

Czech tornado: 3 killed as rare storm hits villages

A local hospital in the town of Hodonin treated 83 injured people. Forty-five were admitted to hospital, six of whom were in serious condition, the hospital’s director Antonin Tesarik said.

The worst-affected area is a village of Luzice, where 100 to 120 of houses were destroyed or damaged, according to Luzice mayor Tomas Klasek. Roofs were ripped off houses and other buildings, windows were blown out, cars were overturned and debris was scattered through the streets, Reuters said.

About 100 firefighters, including extra crews from Austria and Slovakia, were assisting in recovery efforts along with urban search and rescue teams, according to Minister of Interior Jan Hamacek.

A view of the wreckage after a tornado hit the village of Moravska Nova Ves in the Hodonin district of South Moravia.
A damaged house is pictured after the tornado hit Moravska Nova Ves in the Hodonin district.

The Czech Army sent an engineering unit to the region and more units are heading there to help, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The tornado may have reached windspeeds above 332 kph (206 mph), a Czech Television meteorologist said, according to Reuters. That would make it the strongest storm in recent times in the central European nation and its first tornado since 2018.