Storm causes severe damage – suspected tornado

A gust of wind caused serious damage in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Wednesday afternoon. the Hagen fire brigade announced. Accordingly, the storm began around 4 p.m. Roofs of houses were damaged and many trees fell. The Berchum, Emst and parts of the city center were particularly affected. According to “Westfalenpost” A wind speed of 117 kilometers per hour was measured and a tornado was suspected.

How Radio Hagen The roof of a church was reportedly covered within minutes. The Hagen junction with the A 46 towards Iserlohn also had to be closed.

Many professional and volunteer fire brigades are deployed. Due to the consequences of the hurricane, the fire brigade asks you not to call the emergency number anymore, because the control center is overloaded. It is currently unknown if anyone was injured.

Expert speaks of “extraordinary event”

“The data speaks for an extraordinary event. If it wasn’t a tornado, it might have been a microburst, a strong downward movement during a thunderstorm that can cause serious destruction. But in principle, tornadoes can also occur in Hagen, just like everywhere where warm and cold air masses collide,” says weather expert Bastian Rissling to the “Westfalenpost”.

Eyewitnesses posted photos of the destruction on social media. In one you see fallen trees, some of which fell on cars.

Eyewitnesses tell experiences

A resident told the newspaper: “Suddenly there was a lot of wind, then it suddenly started raining. And the roof tiles fell down. Then we saw the wind change.” Then he saw trees in front of the house uprooted and falling on a car. “The roof tiles also flew down.”

One family reported to the “Westfalenpost”: “Half of the trees have disappeared. The large trees in the backyard have fallen. Our car was hit by stones.”

RND/hub