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Several people are being treated in hospital after a tornado tore through Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. yesterday.
Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist with the national weather agency, said the tornado overturned cars on Highway 50 in Gatineau and caused extensive damage to houses in Dunrobin.
Ottawa!
My fiends neighbourhood got hit by a tornado! And now sheets of rain where I am with Anita! pic.twitter.com/ZPmfzWSqad— Sheila North (@TheSheilaNorth) September 21, 2018
The Ottawa Hospital confirmed last night that six people are being treated there for storm-related injuries. Two of those individuals are in critical condition and one sustained serious injuries. The other three are either in stable or fair condition.
Chris Angeconeb and his wife and two sons witnessed the storm as it spun toward their home in Dunrobin. Angeconeb described the eerie calm as the clouds started to build in the sky.
Extensive damage left behind by tornado-warned storms in the Dunrobin and Gatineau areas earlier today. See the latest images of #QCstorm and #ONstorm here: https://t.co/N8XzXs1D4O pic.twitter.com/yZ3cxHcWwb
— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) September 21, 2018
The family could hear objects pelting their home from the basement where they took shelter.
“You could hear things ripping. The wind was just amazingly strong,” said Angeconeb. “It was intimidating and scary.”
Just passed Dunrobin - seemed to travel straight down Thomas Dolan Parkway...
— Jon (@_memorable2) September 21, 2018
(Permission for any news to use - no worries) #ottweather #Ontweather pic.twitter.com/Q7OsOoXJfF
“The house across the road — their garage was gone. Our good neighbour’s house — their house looked completely destroyed. And his neighbour, two doors down, their house was gone. The top level was gone and it was just the basement left.The man who lives there was asking for help because his sister had been hurt.”
Angeconeb says his home also had some damage to it. The roof on the southwest side was ripped off in one corner and lumber was lodged into the wall.
Photos that my mom took of the tornado damage in Dunrobin #onstorm #ottweather #Ottawa pic.twitter.com/I0iT5TIY0t
— Lauren (@_rawrenn) September 21, 2018
“We were freaked out by it all. There is a little bit of shock on the part of everybody in our house, but otherwise we are OK.”
Thousands of people were left without power following the monstrous storm. Ottawa Hydro estimated more than 85,000 people were affected in the city, and Hydro Toronto said more than 5,000 were without power. Restoration efforts are expected to last into today.
“We have all available crews out in the field,” Toronto Hydro said. “They’re working in dangerous conditions and, at times, are not able to start repairs until the wind weakens.”
- With files from The Canadian Press.
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