While no serious injuries were reported as a result of Sunday night’s tornado in Teviotdale, some people who found themselves in the twister’s path say cleaning up the damage won’t be a quick endeavour.
The EF-2 tornado moved along a seven-kilometre-long, 200-metre-wide track, according to Environment Canada.
It was part of a storm system that moved off Lake Huron and across southern Ontario.
At the storm’s height, more than 50,000 people were without electricity.
As of Tuesday evening, about 1,000 people in midwestern Ontario remained in the dark. Hydro One expected all power to be restored by the end of the day.
While downed trees were a common sight across storm-hit areas, the most severe damage was concentrated in and around Teviotdale, in the tornado’s path.
One home lost its roof and walls to the storm. George Bridge, the mayor of Minto Township and warden of Wellington County, said that the house would be rebuilt starting Thursday.
“They’ll have that house up again in a week,” he said.
Damage was also reported in an OPP parking lot, where one police vehicle was picked up and thrown across a number of cruisers.
Two poultry barns in Wellington North Township were damaged.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday that the barns housed a combined 25,000 birds, but it was too soon to tell how many were killed or would have to be euthanized.
Arwa deGroot’s barn, located in Teviotdale, was also hit by the tornado. While there wasn’t much damage inside, four windows were broken and the eavestroughs were ripped off the structure.
“We had a whole ton of volunteers show up yesterday. They just showed up with chainsaws … and pitched in,” she said.
At least two-thirds of the corn crop growing outside the home was also destroyed.
Only three tornadoes have been reported in Ontario thus far in 2015.
During a typical year, the province sees 12 tornadoes.
