AT LEAST 5 DEAD AS TORNADO, HEAVY RAINS PUMMEL CZECH REPUBLIC

At least five people have died after a rare tornado and heavy rains wreaked havoc in the southeast of the Czech Republic, police and emergency services said on Friday, June 25, 2021, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

About 200 people were injured, with 60 of them receiving treatment at hospitals, according to the authorities.

The tornado ravaged seven villages in the Southern Moravian district on Thursday evening, destroying houses and tearing off roofs. Windows were broken and cars battered by the winds.

Emergency forces continued to search for people trapped under rubble on Friday, with hundreds of firefighters going from house to house.

The Czech army sent soldiers and heavy equipment to the region.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek, who called the situation a “great disaster,” also headed to the area. Prime Minister Andrej Babis was expected in the afternoon, upon his return from the EU summit in Brussels.

The government promised financial support to those affected, some of whom lost their entire home. The Czech weather service CHMU later confirmed that the damage had been caused by a tornado, a rare occurrence in the region. The last storm of this caliber in the Czech Republic was seen three years ago.

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