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Residents sift through wreckage after Barrie, Ont., tornado damages about 150 homes

Residents are sifting through the wreckage after a tornado left a path of debris over five kilometres in Barrie, Ont., this week.

Roughly 60 homes are considered 'unsafe to enter,' city says

CBC News ·

Drone footage of Barrie tornado damage

3 years ago
Duration 5:13
A tornado that tore through Barrie, Ont., left a path of destruction about five kilometres long and up to 100 metres wide at some points, Environment Canada said Friday.

Residents are sifting through the wreckage of their homes after a tornado left a path of debris over five kilometres in Barrie, Ont., this week.

The tornado on Thursday afternoon injured 10 people, with two still in hospital. It damaged roughly 150 homes, leaving roughly 60 of them "unsafe to enter," according to the city. No one was killed.

On Friday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford toured the devastated area in south Barrie, thanking emergency crews, talking to residents and having a first-hand look at the damage.

Ford promised residents that the province will help if insurance companies don't cover the cost of repairs.

Residents told him about their shock and their stress, with one saying she and her family cowered in their basement as the tornado tore off the roof of their house. Dust drifted down as the twister passed.

Here are some photos of the devastation and residents taking stock.

A man surveys the damage left after a tornado touched down in his neighbourhood in Barrie, Ont., on Thursday. (Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press)
A woman crouches on a street in Barrie beside her dog as a damaged house stands behind her. High winds from the tornado forced exterior walls to collapse. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
There is nothing left of the roof of this house after the tornado. (Laura Clementson/CBC)
The headboard of a bed is visible where the upstairs bedroom used to be in this home. (Laura Clementson/CBC)
Barrie residents stand in the driveway of their home a day after the tornado, with dust from debris scattered about. (Ellen Mauro/CBC)
The tornado flipped over vehicles and crumpled others. (Laura Clementson/CBC)
The tornado took the roof off this home. (Laura Clementson/CBC)
A woman with luggage stops to talk to a neighbour. The tornado has displaced more than 100 people. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
Premier Doug Ford thanked emergency crews when he toured the area devastated by the tornado. He added that he was thanking them for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, too. (Martin Trainor/CBC)

With files from Muriel Draaisma

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