Tornado rips through Canadian city, causing heavy destruction

Damage left after a tornado touched down in a neighborhood of Barrie, Ontario, on July 15, 2021. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

An aerial view shows damage to buildings in a suburb in the aftermath of a tornado in Barrie, Ontario, Canada on July 15, 2021. (Courtesy of Edward Loveless/Social Media via REUTERS)

People survey damaged houses in the aftermath of a tornado in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, on July 15, 2021. (Brandon Vieira via REUTERS)

• Mayor says several people were hurt but fortunately no lives had been lost

BARRIE, Ontario: Several people were injured and many more displaced Thursday after a tornado ripped through part of a city in the south of the Canadian province of Ontario, its mayor said as he expressed relief that no lives had been lost in the destruction.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman said that while the tornado that hit a neighborhood in the city’s south end caused extensive property damage, as of Thursday evening, no deaths were reported and no one appeared to be unaccounted for.
“I can’t tell you how incredible it is that nobody has been killed, and I hope that as all the secondary searches are completed and the patients are treated in the hospital, that that continues to be the case,” he said.
Paramedics said eight people were taken to hospital, including four who suffered serious injuries. Seven of those hospitalized were being treated for trauma and one for a medical condition, they said.
Others who suffered more minor injuries were treated at the scene, said Andrew Robert, the chief of paramedic services.
Fire officials said up to 25 buildings suffered significant damage, with roughly 20 considered uninhabitable at this time and two or three “completely destroyed.”
Earlier Thursday, police spokesman Peter Leon said the tornado had also damaged gas lines and caused power outages.
The tornado tore through Anita Heyworth’s neighborhood, ripping up her fence and carrying her backyard trampoline away as she pulled into her driveway with her six-year-old daughter, 16-year-old son and 70-year-old mother in tow.
“I saw the funnel cloud with my trampoline in it and I saw it go down my street, and I’m yelling, ‘duck!’ because all I could see was my debris coming toward my car,” Heyworth said.