Clean-up underway after severe storms spawn tornado near Ottawa
Severe thunderstorms produced at least one confirmed tornado in eastern Ontario on Thursday
Several rounds of intense thunderstorms swept across parts of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec through the day Thursday, prompting widespread tornado warnings throughout the region.
PHOTOS: Quebec cleans up after storms bring severe winds, flooding
After starting with heavy rain and strong thunderstorms across southwestern Ontario early Thursday, eastern Ontario took the brunt of the severe weather, with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirming at least one tornado in Barrhaven, south of Ottawa. A survey team deployed to the area will perform an assessment of the damage on Friday.
"Damage reported included roof damage, broken windows, power and utility outages as well as damage to trees," ECCC said. "At this time the damage reported seems to be western portions of Barrhaven."
According to city officials, the tornado left at least 125 homes damaged.
Despite the damage, only one minor injury was reported, Ottawa paramedics said via CBC News. The city set up a family reunification centre at the Minto Recreation Complex at 3500 Cambrian Rd. for families that needed a place to stay for up to 72 hours.
The storm continued to push east through the afternoon, where wind damage, power outages, and localized flooding were reported in southern Quebec.
Downed trees in Sorel-Tracy in southwestern Quebec. July 13, 2023 (Joey Olivier/MeteoMedia)
Hydro Quebec reported more than 490,000 customers were without power at 3:20 p.m. local time, though some of those were due to protection mechanisms linked to the forest fires in the Baie-James area that had interrupted three transportation lines.
"We are currently working on bringing back the power on those lines," said the agency.
Check out photos and videos of Thursday’s storms taken by folks in the area, below:
WATCH: Experts assess the Barrhaven tornado damage
Damage photos from Barrhaven via Laurie Gillespie on Twitter:
WATCH: Tornado touches down in southern Ottawa, damaging homes
Thumbnail image courtesy: Shagtor/Twitter.
