Tornadoes in my backyard....
Hey there y'all! I'm just going to jump right in with this one.....we had 7 tornadoes touch down in my hometown on September 21, 2018 in the span of 4 or 5 minutes.
It. Was. Terrifying. This picture was taken by my girlfriend, we have been friends for 20 years. It was snatched up by the media (Ottawa Citizen used it within hours without crediting her...) and has been circulating since.
screenshot of her pic from my phone since my pics won't load correctly...she was stuck in her car on Greenbank while they dealt with these power lines.....
The destruction is mind boggling to someone who has never seen such a weather event! It looks like a war zone, houses and buildings are leveled. Farms and animals took heavy hits across the region with the tornadoes hitting 9 different towns. There were no deaths, however a handful of people remain in critical condition. The emotional devastation runs deep. There is widespread gratefulness and sorrow at the same time, matching losses against blessings.
I was in the truck driving when it hit. This is the warning from my phone, the radios were blasting warnings too.
I have never been so scared in my life and am thankful to have made it home safe and to only outside destruction at our place.
The old homestead out back of our house. You can see how close it is to the barn as well as our house! This was condemned and we don't use it, but now will need to be removed completely before winter
Dunrobin area is where I live, my street intersects with it. I can't bring myself to photograph much of the destruction, it seems callous to the people affected. There are over 80 homes just in our neighborhood completely gone. I have been volunteering with my family these weeks, there is an incredible amount of building to come in the weeks and months ahead.
There has been more help from community than any other type of organized or government help by far. The local business are keeping volunteer staff and residents fed, there are donations daily. It is so scary, it really makes you realize that sometimes no amount of prepping can help you.....any supplies accumulated were destroyed in some cases here. We really do need each other....remember to help others and be kind. You never know when things could go wrong.
Thank you for reading, take care of you and yours ❤
Holy sh*t Karen!! I really had no clue as to the extent of the damage !!
Amazing how your community is rallying together to help everyone!!
Ugh Lynds it is crazy. There really are no words. My pics are sneaky ones, what I haven't captured is what is really mindblowing. There are 2 people still in critical condition, one hurt right in our butcher shop down the road (that is now gone, family business of 30 some years) and there were still livestock roaming everywhere as of last week! Never would have thought something like this could happen here....
These heavy weather events are scary!
I saw that one the news Karen, we watched it extensively. I have seen pictures like those before, but never did I ever figure it would hit the areas of Ontario and Quebec like that. We always assume tropical places. I feel ill when I see those pictures. I wish you lots of strength for you and your family and neighbors to pull yourself's through this. It is like a war zone. Makes my troubles seem small. I remain grateful...for "There for the grace of God ...go I." I hope you soon find some peace. x
Just wild that it happened here! It is truly awful. I have never seen this kind of incident in real life, it does look like a war zone in many places. A for sale sign from a street here was found 150km away in a farm field in Quebec just this week....mindblowing. Thank you <3
You take care, it will be a long road for those residents and I feel for them. Mother Nature is in turmoil everywhere. Blessings for you and your family.
Wow. That's a lot of damage! Glad you were able to stay safe during the storm. That clean up is going to take some time. Prayers for your community! 💜
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It is insane. I think overall the house loss is over 500....so sad. The trees and old farm buildings are the saddest....landscapes forever changed.
Tornadoes are terrifying. We get them here, too, such that people are pretty blasé about it when the sirens go off. In the spring they go off so often the reflex is to stop, look around, and go about your business if you don't see a funnel cloud. If a big one ever hit Denver proper, we'd be so screwed. I'm glad you're okay. 💚