PRAGUE — A rare tornado believed to be the most devastating in the Czech Republic’s modern history has torn through the country’s southeast, killing at least five people and injuring hundreds, rescue services and police said Friday.
The tornado touched down late Thursday as strong thunderstorms hit the entire country. Seven towns and villages sustained heavy damage that included buildings turned to rubble and overturned cars. The storms were accompanied by hail that in some cases was as big as tennis balls.
Hrusky Deputy Mayor Marek Babisz told Czech public radio that half of his town was all but wiped out.
“The church is without the tower, the elementary school has no roof and insulation any more, only walls remain from what were houses. … It’s really terrible,” Babisz said.
Some 360 extra police officers were dispatched to the area, along with army personnel. Rescue crews from across the country, joined by counterparts from nearby Austria and Slovakia, were using drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs to search through the rubble.
Police said at least five people were found dead, but regional government chief Jan Grolich said the death toll was likely to rise.
“It’s a huge tragedy,” Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.
Babis was in Brussels for an European Union summit and was planning to visit the afflicted region later Friday. He said he has asked the EU for help.
“I’d like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims,” Babis said. “We … will do all we can to help the people because it’s a real apocalypse.” He said some 2,000 buildings have been damaged. More than 40,000 households remain without electricity in the southeast.
Meteorologist Martin Setvak said it was the most damaging tornado in the country’s modern history.
“It certainly was at least the strongest F3 intensity, but very likely it was F4” in the six-notch Fujita scale, Setvak said.