At least one tornado hit a suburb of the Canadian capital on Thursday, damaging more than 100 homes, authorities said.
Kim Ayotte, general manager of emergency and protective services for the city of Ottawa, said 125 homes were damaged in Half Moon Bay, a neighborhood on the south end of suburban Barrhaven.
He said most of the damage involved ripped roofs, shattered windows or damage from falling trees.
“It’s a variety of damage ranging from small damage to quite large damage,” he said.
He said only one minor injury was reported involving a person whose foot was severed.
Monica Vaswani, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said multiple funnel clouds were reported in the Ottawa area on Thursday afternoon, but only one tornado was confirmed mid-storm. afternoon.
The community is about 14 miles south of Parliament Hill, on the rapidly growing south end of Ottawa.
Laurie Gillespie said her 82-year-old mother and sister were at home when her sister noticed a thunderstorm and came out to pull up a chair so it wouldn’t fly away. Windows in the living room, bathroom and bedroom were all blown out, spilling glass everywhere, while much of the roof was torn off, she said.
“The curtains in the bathroom window got sucked in and ended up on the roof,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie said there was damage within about two to three blocks of his mother’s house. Some roofs were ripped open and blocks of foam used as insulation in the attic exploded.
Ottawa police have asked people to avoid the Barrhaven area and stay clear of downed power lines.
