in

Tornado hits Dunrobin Ottawa and Gatineau

Source: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/photos/view/active-weather/tornado-in-ottawa-gatineau-sept-21-2018/33385836e

The map above shows the path of the tornado that hit my Outaouais region on September 21st. A great autumn beginning with destruction of property and mayhem. I have lived in Ottawa Gatineau for the past 63 years and have never seen a tornado hit through those two cities. I have often heard of small tornadoes hitting the outskirts of the cities but never right smack into them.

On September 21st there was a weather warning stating that we would see very strong winds and heavy rains later on in the day. With this we were also warned that this type of environment was very likely to produce tornadoes. Everybody heard that warning but I am pretty sure everybody did not really pay attention to the tornado warning. Anyway, at around 2 or 3 pm the winds started along with the rain. And then eventually all hell broke loose. We even saw a twister in our backyard carrying and sending debris, papers, leaves and insulation pieces on the ground and in the air. But that twister slowly moved away without touching the house or any other houses on the street. And then of course the power went out. We were lucky, but some of the population of Dunrobin and Ottawa-Gatineau were not.

As I explained earlier, the path of the tornado started in Dunrobin to the west of Ottawa. You can see the damages caused in and around that town on the next set of photos whose source is: https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

Then the storm along with the tornado traveled to Ottawa where again it caused property and general damages. Up till Sunday afternoon the news stated that about 100,000 persons and households in Ottawa alone were without electricity and that it might be restored either in a week or much longer.

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

After Ottawa of course came Gatineau under the wrath of the tornado. Take a look at the pictures below.

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

 

<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4477461/tornado-ottawa-in-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

All in all there are as of today on the 23rd of September 2018, 260 total households in the region touched by the tornado that are still without power. Ottawa Hydro and Hydro-Québec both state that it might be a few days to a few weeks to restore all the power because this tornado with wind gust of 118km/hr (119 miles per hour) with an estimated F2 (or probably more strength) caused heavier damages to the electrical grid than the ice storm of 1998 that hit my region of residence. There was no loss of lives although there were apparently two individuals in critical condition in hospitals and about 30 to 40 other individuals treated for minor bumps, cuts and bruises in the various emergencies in the region. In Gatineau alone there are some 700 individuals including their families and children who had to be evacuated and relocated temporarily or permanently. Even the Prime Minister of Québec stopped his election campaign to come in and survey the damages that are still to be estimated.

The only reason I wrote this post is not because I and my family were touched by this tornado but rather because nobody in my family and myself remember ever having heard or even seen a tornado hitting this specific region except for the outskirts. I know that in the US it is rather a common event especially in the tornado corridor (like Doc Anderson mentioned in one of my comments) but here I do not even think we have a tornado corridor except maybe in the Plains (Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces). Since I have never lived throughout a tornado and even less seen one I felt compelled to write about it and present it to the Virily community. Thank you very much visiting my little presentation and commenting.

Report

What do you think?

Written by HistoryGal

20 Comments

    • According to our Canadian meteorologists, it could be the beginning of a trend because they predict that for the upcoming ten years, the summers in our region will be very hot and very humid (up to as high as 50 degrees C with the humidex) and that our winter will be dwindling down to about one to two months a year. Of course they could be wrong and I surely hope so as I cannot stand summer and especially summer humidity. Thank you for your visit, for your comment and your up vote.

      1
    • Thank you for your comment and your up vote. I do not really know how many were hit but it was a first for us here and I think we were not prepared at all. When it comes to floods, we know how to prepare and react to them but in the case of a first tornado, that is a different setting.

  1. Such devastation when these storms hit. I hope many are starting to rebuild now. So glad you and your family are safe. Good that others can come together when tragedy strikes.

    1
    • I am happy you do not experience tornadoes. We did not use to also except for the Western Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta but now thanks to climate change we are. Oh we had an alert on the TV and phone about an upcoming Tornado but since I and most of the population had not lived through one, we did not really either pay attention to it or not prepared for it. BTW thank you for reading, commenting and up voting my article.

  2. Thank you for sharing this mind-blowing news with all of us. I am surprised by the looks of things that anything is still standing. Prayers for them all!

    1
    • Sorry about not seeing your comment earlier. I do not remember seeing a notification about it either. But that is Virily for you. There were some houses that we’re totally destroyed including one that was just sold. I do not know how the seller and the buyer are going to resolve that. Thank you for your prayers and your reading and commenting.

    • Thank you Vidocka for your comment. It goes to show that people really care. I and my family were very lucky not to have been touched by this tornado which is unprecedented in the Ottawa-Gatineau cities. Dunrobin, further west of Ottawa seems to have taken the blunt force of the tornado because several houses were leveled. But at least there were no fatalities that were reported anyway although at the last news two persons remained on the critical list.

  3. You read my mind Indexer. I was almost tempted to put the blame on the climate changes that the whole world is seeing lately but as I was writing I forgot about it. Just to let you know, as of September 23rd, 90,000 residents had their electricity restored. Thank you for commenting and up voting.

  4. Those are truly terrible scenes you have shared here. One has to wonder if the migration of storms such as this to that region has something to do with climate change – the disruption of weather patterns is a highly probable consequence.

    1