One Dead As Rare Tornado Tears Through Dutch City

Zierikzee, Netherlands, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jun, 2022 ) :A tornado ripped through a southwestern Dutch city on Monday, killing a woman and injuring nine others in the first fatal twister to hit the country for three decades.

The whirlwind left a trail of destruction through the seaside city of Zierikzee, ripping the roofs off homes and toppling trees onto cars, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Images on social media showed debris rotating in the air in the fierce winds and a huge funnel descending from stormy clouds as the tornado hit the city in the scenic province of Zeeland.

The victim was a 73-year-old woman from Wassenaar, a town near The Hague, police said.

Local media said she was a tourist who was hit on the head by a roof tile in the city's harbour area.

"The damage is considerable in several streets in Zierikzee. In addition to flying roof tiles and fallen trees, roofs have been blown off four houses," the Zeeland safety authority said.

One injured person was taken to hospital and eight others were treated on site by paramedics it said, adding that there had been a "huge deployment" of emergency services.

"It got completely dark. Outside you could see everything flying, everything in the air," Zierikzee resident Freek Kouwenberg, 72, told AFP.

"I've never experienced anything like it."