A rare tornado killed at least one person and injured 10 others on Monday in the coastal city of Zierikzee in the southwestern Netherlands, emergency services said.
The whirlwind left a trail of damage, blowing the roofs off four homes and causing the front of one house to collapse, the Zeeland province safety authority said in a statement.
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“Unfortunately, there was one fatality in the tornado. In addition, the first picture is about 10 more injured. Emergency services are still busy mapping out the total size,” it said.
“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.”
Tiles were ripped from the roof of a church and trampolines were sent flying through the air, Dutch public broadcaster NOS said.
Images on social media showed debris thrown into the air on a column of rotating wind and a large white funnel of cloud extending from the base of a darkened sky.
Emergency services asked people to stay away from the area to avoid hindering the work of police and the fire brigade, and because of the danger from falling tiles and branches.
The Netherlands experiences around several tornadoes a year but the last fatal one to hit the country was in 1992, said NOS.
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