Shortly after 1.30pm today (November 16), a tornado tore through the councils of Lagoa and Silves, leaving a trail of destruction between the areas of Carvoeiro and Silves where some casualties and damage to houses and vehicles have been reported.
The tornado uprooted trees, shattered windows, lifted tiles off houses, and overturned vehicles both in Lagoa and Silves in a real chaos scenario.
Damage to property and trees in the Carvoeiro Golfe and Monte Santo
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tourist complexes has been reported. The church in Carvoeiro was struck by lightning with a small fire being put out by the GNR teams. Schoolchildren in the nearby primary school were sent home as a precautionary measure.
In Lagoa, the most affected area was the western part, where the tornado uprooted trees and overturned billboards by the EN125 near the Pão de Açúcar supermarket.
Heading north in the Silves direction, the tornado caused devastation to houses and vehicles in the Lagoa residential area near the GNR, health centre and primary school.
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Ambulances could be seen transporting patients from their houses in Lagoa, likely injured from shattered glass, and some motorhomers in the Silves car park had to be assisted by the emergency teams after several vehicles overturned.
The roof of Silves Municipal Swimming Pools was completely destroyed while the stadium nearby suffered severe damage, with the city being described as resembling a bomb site.
Dozens of emergency, civil protection, municipal and police teams were attending to casualties, clearing roads and controlling traffic.
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Schoolchildren in Lagoa and Silves were also sent home.
Floods were registered in various areas such as Albufeira, Ferragudo, Mexilhoeira da Carregação and Estombar.
Damage assessment is currently being done by the authorities.
See also: http://www.algarveresident.com/0-49942/algarve/tornado-hits-algarve
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