BARRIE, ONT. — It’s been a year since an F2 tornado tore through the Barrie, Ont.
The City of Barrie posted on Twitter today (July 15), “One year ago today, a tornado touched down in Barrie. We acknowledge the resilience and caring shown by our residents and and are grateful to everyone who worked together to support those in need during that time.”
The tornado touched down around 2:30 p.m. minutes after Environment Canada upgraded its tornado watch in the area to a warning. It was later determined it had ripped through part of the city was five kilometres long and 100 metres wide.
The tornado touched down near Huronia Road and Mapleview Drive and continued east, causing significant damage on the north side of Mapleview Drive.
The event caused “catastrophic” damage and multiple people were injured. About 60 homes were either irreparably damaged or rendered uninhabitable. Some homes sustained structural damage, others lost power and had gas lines affected. Photos shared on social media showed roofs partially torn off, overturned vehicles and debris littering the streets.
There were no fatalities but there were at least 11 injuries including three construction workers. At least two residential construction sites, owned by Pratt Homes and Pace Homes, were in the path of the tornado.
Three workers from Pace Homes were inside a construction trailer on Pace’s Urban North site when the tornado hit and had no time to take shelter. The two site supervisors and a construction clerk were part of a crew of around 35 undertaking early works on the 900-home site.
Pace COO Pamela Ventresca said it was a “miracle” the workers are alive. The trailer flew and bounced about 100 feet, other workers on the site took cover. When it was safe they went to look for their coworkers in the debris but they found them face down in water bleeding.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed