Leamington hit by tornado
"(Harrow) just looks like a massive lake when you drive down there," said Essex Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche, reached Sunday at the Red Bull Air Race.
He said Harrow, Colchester and Oxley were inundated by the storm. "There's going to be a lot of corn crops that are going to have to be replanted."
Late Sunday afternoon Environment Canada confirmed that a tornado in the F1 range touched down in Leamington and travelled a distance of 300 to 400 metres. There was damage over an area of two kilometres, with the rest of the damage caused by downbursts, said Peter Kimbell of Environment Canada.
Near Kingsville, said county warden Nelson Santos, properties near the Albuna Townline were doused by a "one-two punch" of rain and suspected tornado activity. Cedar Beach was also flooded.
Though none were killed or injured, he said, trees in the area are "toppled, twisted and snapped off." Gas lines have broken in some places.
Kimbell said two tornado warnings were issued overnight. One was sent out at 11:15 a.m., but no tornado materialized. A second was issued at 2:37 a.m.
That second warning sparked off a major wind event he declined to identify as a tornado without further inspection.
A rain warning was also issued around 12:20 a.m.
That rain, said Essex Region Conservation Authority flood control co-ordinator Tim Byrne, came in a very short amount of time. He said many flood control systems around the county were old and not up to the task of handling snap rains.
"The rainfall we did receive did not warrant us issuing a flood advisory," he said.
Leamington has been under a state of emergency as of 6:25 a.m. Sunday. Decades-old trees were toppled, power lines were torn down and homes were destroyed.
No death or injuries have been reported, but strong winds caused severe structural and tree damage. Broken tree limbs are scattered throughout the affected areas, including Erie Street South from Seacliff Drive to the marina and smaller streets branching off.
Leamington's public works department called out most of its employees to deal with the wreckage. "We're just trying to clean the streets," said Allin Gelinau, who usually does garbage pickup for the town. "You come out here and it's like a war zone," he said. "This is the first time I've seen anything like it," he said.
There is also damage to the marina area, including Seacliff Park and docks that have shifted away from the pier. Falling trees and debris shattered the windows of vehicles and properties.
"I've lived here all my life and I haven't seen anything like this," said Leamington Deputy Mayor Robert Schmidt. "It's quite shocking."
Schmidt declared the state of emergency shortly after meeting with the town's emergency response team. Leamington Mayor John Adams is out of town and could not be reached for comment.
Declaring a state of emergency allows the town to receive funding from the province to help pay for its relief efforts. Schmidt said the town has also solicited aid from the County of Essex.
Essex Mayor Ron McDermott, reached on his way to the Red Bull Air Race, said things weren't as bad in Colchester and Harrow as in Leamington.
Both McDermott and Meloche said they hadn't seen the damage.
"I checked with the people and there's nothing I can do there," McDermott said. "(The people of Harrow) would probably tell me to get out of there.
"I wanted to get down there this morning but I had previous commitments." Those included attending a choir service for D-Day.
Meloche said, "I'm not going to be able to do anything."
Properties along Seacliff Drive, bordered by Fraser Road and Bevel Line, were hardest hit. Police have closed off Erie Street South at Seacliff Drive and Seacliff Drive at Sherk Street.
The F. T. Sherk Aquatic & Fitness Centre has been converted into a shelter for displaced families by the Red Cross.
"It's pretty extensive," said Miskovski. "There's a lot of property damage."
Linda Skowby was awoken at 3 a.m. when a Maple tree was hit by the storm and collapse onto her roof. She lives at 1 Park Street on the corner of Park and Erie streets.
"It just came through like a train," she said, motioning across the path where she thinks storm went.
She said she didn't know where she would stay Sunday night because she's been told to stay out of her house. Besides the crack running through her living room ceiling, there was an almost immediate smell of gas after the hit, she said. Skowby said she thinks her gas line was hit.
"I loved this area," she said.
Miskovski said roads have been blocked off to prevent the public from being injured by debris or machinery being used for cleanup.
"Because there are power outages and downed power lines, people are cautioned to be very, very careful," Miskovski said.
There were many onlookers Sunday morning, wandering in their pajamas, on bikes and talking on their cellphones about the destruction.
Essex Hydro's service update message says hydro is out on multiple roads and the estimate for service to be back is 5 p.m. Sunday. But some residents worry their power will be out for weeks rather than hours.
Police checked on a group of children who were camping at Point Pelee who hadn't been heard from since the storm and confirmed they're not injured, said Miskovski.
Town officials suspect a tornado touched down around 3 a.m., Miskovski said.
Kimbell said two teams, one from Environment Canada and one from the University of Western Ontario, will be checking out the damage in Leamington to determine if the event was a tornado.
They're looking at the direction of the debris, whether it's converging or diverging and for a long, narrow trail of damage, all characteristics of a tornado.
Source: windsorstar
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