The latest tornado to hit the Charente Maritime département in western France caused damage in several villages around the town of Saints.

Although no one was hurt the vortex of swirling air caused damage to around 50 buildings.

The tornado, which was caught on video by a witness, looks like something you’d expect in the mid-west of America rather on the west coast of France.

However weather experts say we should not be surprised, even if it was the second tornado to strike in a week in the area.

“This is not an exceptional phenomenon,” David Dumas from the French Observatory of tornados and violent storms told TF1.

“The Charente Maritime is a “risk zone”, meaning it’s a region of France where the occurrence of tornados is higher than normal.”

However Dumas said this week’s tornado was the most violent in the area since 2013. 

The video below shows the destruction it left behind.

The tornado struck as violent storms lashed much of central France causing widespread damage and leaving three people dead.