Storm with blasting winds catches residents by surprise in town of Buetzow, ripping roofs apart and turning cars over, while one person is killed in Hamburg

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The German town of Buetzow has been left extensively damaged by what residents described as a tornado that tore off roofs, overturned cars and ripped up trees, with more destruction reported in other parts of Germany.

Roof tiles and debris were strewn across the streets and buildings left severely damaged when the storm struck on Tuesday.

Dozens of cars were destroyed and people injured as trees were upturned and buildings damaged by the winds. One person in the city of Hamburg was killed by falling debris.

The extent of the damage was still to be seen as emergency services tried to assess the situation. More storms are expected in Germany over the next days.

Eyewitnesses spoke of a track of devastation across the area caused by a tornado but the German weather service Wetter Online said the winds did not meet the exact definition of a twister.

One Buetzow resident, who described the storm as “insane”, said: “I saw that the clouds were very strange … and it was like a punch in the face, the wind and water and rain.

“I have never seen anything like this in my life, it is complete madness. Hundreds of trees have been overturned, completely uprooted, roofs ripped off. You don’t experience something like this every day.”