Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Severe weather across Europe spawns injury-causing twister
BERLIN — A rare tornado injured 19 people, two of them severely, in Luxembourg, while 15 soccer players were injured by a lightning strike in southern Germany as unseasonal storms hit northern Europe late Friday.
The tornado, in the southwestern Luxembourg communities of Pettingen and Kaerjeng, left a path of destruction that made up to 100 homes uninhabitable, local media reported Saturday. Debris and damaged cars were left strewn around the area, while at least four power poles were destroyed.
The tornado was less destructive in nearby eastern France, but local media reported that dozens of roofs were ruined and cars were damaged in the communities of Longwy and Herserange.
Amateur footage showed a small tornado whirling in the Oosterdok section of Amsterdam on Friday night. Tornadoes are very unusual in Europe, where fierce gales that are more the norm also created hazardous conditions.
In southern Germany, lightning struck a soccer field in Rosenfeld-Heiligenzimmern where 15 players were practicing Friday night. They were injured slightly but were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Police asked thousands of people to leave an open-air concert in Rothenburg early because of the weather.
High winds and high temperatures were responsible for dozens of wildfires breaking out in Greece, officials said.
A total of 59 fires started over 24 hours beginning Friday night, and authorities said all either had been extinguished or were under control by sundown Saturday.
The most serious fire broke out in a landfill on the island of Elafonisos in southern Greece and led to the precautionary evacuation of tourists from a nearby campsite, a local official told state news agency ANA-MPA.