A tornado hit the Arrageois: half of the inhabitants of Bihucourt to be rehoused – La Voix du Nord

Located between Arras and Bapaume, the small villages of Bihucourt (360 inhabitants) and Hendecourt-lès-Cagnicourt (320 inhabitants) were hit late Sunday afternoon by a tornado. The damage is impressive, but no casualties are to be deplored. Houses were devastated in Bihucourt, in Arrageois. Photo La Voix du Nord In Bihucourt, south of Arras, dozens of houses were affected by the passage of this tornado. By Fabien Bidaud and Christophe Hautecoeur (CLP), with Benjamin Dubrulle Published: October 23, 2022 at 7:48 p.m. Reading time: 3 min It is a spectacle of desolation in the village of Bihucourt, a small town located between Arras and Bapaume. This Sunday, shortly before 7 p.m., what appears to be a tornado (force 3) devastated everything in its path over a large part of the village (around the streets of Bapaume, Center and Dorier). Dozens of roofs of houses were blown away by the force of the wind during this large storm cell. The damage is very impressive. The floor is strewn with broken tiles. Dozens of trees were uprooted. Walls collapsed. Part of the roof of the church has disappeared. It is a real scene of war according to the witnesses present on the spot. The power supply has been cut, wires are strewn on the ground. A crisis cell was activated in the town hall in the presence of the prefect, the gendarmerie and the firefighters. Fortunately, there were no casualties apart from a few minor injuries. For Alain Castanier, sub-prefect and secretary general of the prefecture, “the tornado hit several villages in a row and Bihucourt is the most affected town. Half of the inhabitants are to be rehoused (about 150 people). The main current danger is the presence on the public highway of numerous torn electrical cables. Enedis teams were called in to secure the lines. Apocalypse Lysiane, 26, speaks of an “apocalypse” following the passage of this tornado. “I thought we were going to die with my boyfriend. It rumbled everywhere with the continuous sound of thunder. An hour after the tornado circled over my house, I was still shaking. “. “It’s as if we were sucked in, testifies Catherine Sauvage. At one point, we thought it was hail that was falling but it was actually the tiles from the neighbor’s shed that had flown away. Solidarity was quickly organized in the village to help the victims. Most will be staying with family or neighbours. The possibility of opening rooms in neighboring municipalities (Bapaume, Ervillers) is also being considered for those who have no solution. Impressive damage in Hendecourt-lès-Cagnicourt. In the neighboring village of Hendecourt-lès-Cagnicourt, the same desolation following the passage of this tornado. “Half of the homes were affected (i.e. around fifty households impacted)”, relates the mayor. A dozen people have been rehoused with relatives. The village was closed to traffic due to numerous debris on the roadway as well as electrical wires. The municipality of Ervillers was also affected by the passage of this Sunday tornado (an agricultural building collapsed and several electric poles were on the ground). Read also A1 motorway: major traffic jams form after accidents in both directions Read also The main activity area of ​​the 7 Valleys is on the rise Arras: the Algerian war according to Jean-Paul Sartre, an essay by Jean-Luc Yacine Savy-Berlette: students from the agricultural college working with young people with disabilities Continue reading on this/these subject(s): Miscellaneous Arras Disasters and accidents Weather Meteorology Bihucourt (62121, Pas- de-Calais) Hendecourt-lès-Cagnicourt (62182, Pas-de-Calais) Ervillers (62121, Pas-de-Calais) gendarmerie