Storm in Vichy: hailstones as big as boule balls in Bad Tölz's twin town

Created: 06/11/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Andreas Steppan

Clean-up work: A hailstorm on the Pentecost weekend also caused severe damage in this gym, parts of the ceiling came down.

© Bernard Kajdan

Vichy, the French twin town of Bad Tölz, was hit by a severe storm.

The deputy mayor paints a picture of the destruction.

Vichy/Bad Tölz

– In Vichy, the French twin town of Bad Tölz, a severe hailstorm caused major damage on Pentecost.

"Most people here have never experienced anything like this," reported Deputy Mayor Bernard Kajdan in a phone call to the Tölzer Kurier.

The hailstones were as big as tennis balls - "or like boule balls, as we say here," says Kajdan.

Numerous roofs were torn off, water was standing in the city's representative opera house, cars were badly damaged, and parks were devastated.

Now, a few days after the natural event, the only good thing is seeing people stick together, says Kajdan.

Heavy hailstorm causes great damage in Vichy

The deputy mayor himself was not in town at the time of the storm.

He had traveled to Baden-Baden, where seven important spa towns in Europe, including Vichy, received the UNESCO World Heritage certificate.

On the other hand, what awaited Kajdan on his nightly return to his hometown was a shock.

As he reports, around 10 p.m. a heavy hailstorm raged for about 20 minutes – selectively only over Vichy and a few neighboring communities.

The hailstones had broken through countless roof tiles, ceilings had collapsed in some houses, water had run into houses, the insulating wool was soaked on several roofs.

Glass awnings were destroyed in front of shops in many places.

"And I've never seen such damage to cars," says Kajdan.

Not only the bodies are dented, many vehicles also no longer have windows.

Trees snapped and branches fell in parks.

"And about 80 percent of the birds were killed and were lying on the ground," says Kajdan.

Vichy: Emergency accommodation for people who were made homeless by hailstorms

Fortunately, the public buildings in the city "were not hit too badly," says Kajdan.

In the venerable opera house, windows and glass roofs were broken, and there was water in the hallways and stairs.

But the opera hall was spared.

Kajdan is relieved that 800 to 900 children, who were celebrating the dance school prom that evening, were able to get to safety in time.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the storm.

In the aftermath, however, two people were injured who fell trying to repair their roof themselves.

Mayor Frédéric Aguilera was out and about in the city until the early hours of the hailstorm to help those affected.

For people whose houses had become uninhabitable, the city set up an emergency quarters in the town hall.

To date, not all Vichy residents have been able to return to their homes, according to Kajdan.

Two out of five schools in the city are not yet usable again.

In addition, the sports halls were badly damaged.

National television even reported the storm.

Great solidarity after hailstorm in Vichy

"It will take a long time to fix everything," said the deputy mayor.

Long queues formed in front of the insurance agencies in the city.

"But we stand together in this situation, people help each other."

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