'It was unlike anything I've ever seen': Cleanup underway after tornado touches down near Chatsworth, Ont.
A tornado left behind a trail of destruction after it touched down Saturday just east of Chatsworth, Ont.
The twister toppled trees, flattened buildings and left some roads impassable.
Roxie Zehr and her five children saw the tornado coming just before it hit her home.
“We ran to the basement and thankfully it was just in time. It happened so quickly.”
When she emerged, she was stunned by the damage.
“It was overwhelming to see it all. Mudroom, garage… gone.”
In less than 10 minutes the tornado destroyed nearly everything the Zehr family owned. Their van was crushed by fallen trees, and their personal belongings were left scattered among building debris. The family’s 100-year-old barn was also levelled.
“I’m finding parts of our house three-quarter kilometres back in the field,” added Brandon Zehr.
While there’s not much left on the property, the family says what’s most important is that everyone is safe.
No injuries have been reported in the township.
“Just seeing all this, it just makes you realize what’s important,” says Roxie Zehr. “All that stuff we had really means nothing.”
The community is helping the family to clean up the property.
Volunteers are also working to remove downed trees from the roadways.
Scott Mackey, Chatsworth’s mayor, says there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done over the next week.
“We’ve had two barns that have been completely destroyed, couple of other houses that are suffering from some structural damage.”
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” says Brittney Wright.
She caught some of the aftermath on her camera.
“The trees were down, corn fields were completely flat. At one point we saw a barn completely flat on the ground.”
Wright left her apartment after being alerted by a tornado warning.
Rob Kuhn, a severe weather meteorologist for Environment Canada, says those messages can sometimes appear on the radar quickly.
“Sometimes it’s short-fused, last minute. It’s a balance. You want to give the head’s up, but if you go too far ahead it’ll be a false alarm.”
Environment Canada says at least one tornado touched down Saturday.
A team from Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project is investigating the damage left behind by the storm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says at G7
The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received 'last minute' information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, but didn't participate in the apparent attack, officials said.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.