Strong winds peel roof of Elie legion back 'like a tin can'

Strong winds caused part of the roof of the Veterans Hall in Elie, Man., to be torn off Monday morning.

Wind gusts of up to 120 km/h have been reported in parts of southern Manitoba, damaging buildings, vehicles, trees and power lines.

Gerry Arnal, a councillor in the Rural Municipality of Cartier, said north winds have blown under the legion's roof "and started peeling off the top part."

• Manitoba winds knock down power lines, trees, rip roof off building

"It's rolling the actual metal roof almost like a tin can," said Arnal. "It's exposed the cedar planks on the inside and you can see daylight through the tongue and groove joints."

By Arnal's estimation, the entire roof is a writeoff.

"It's major structural damage. The building's going to require a brand new roof," Arnal said.

"It's too dangerous to go up there to put any temporary covering on it until the wind dies down…. We moved everything inside that we could, but we're running out of room to move things."

Dale Fossay, the reeve of the RM of Cartier, said the damage is going to hurt local community programming.

"It's used several times a week so this will be an inconvenience for sure," Fossay said.

Insulation from the roof was blown all over a baseball diamond several hundred feet away, he added.

The hall was serving as the advance polling station in the area. Voters are now asked to go to the Elie Community Centre, across the street at 23 Main St.