'It was scary': severe thunderstorm wreaks havoc in southwestern Ontario
A short but powerful thunderstorm that came through Southwestern Ontario Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring others.
OPP are reporting one person is deceased, and two others were injured when a tree fell on a camping trailer at Pinehurst Lake in Brant County.
At Cobble Hills Golf Club in Thamesford, Ont. three people suffered minor injuries when a tree fell onto a golf cart by the ninth tee.
Doug Breen, vice president of Golf North — which owns Cobble Hills — told CTV News that 9-1-1 was called after a man was trapped underneath a downed tree.
"A number of golfers frantically ran into the clubhouse to notify staff,” says Breen.
“The brave people ran back out into the storm to rescue him from underneath the tree. They managed to lift it enough to get him free."
In Old East Village (OEV) in London, Ont. there was major damage within a two-block radius.
"The wind was the most intense thing I've ever felt in my entire life," says Adam Steadman, a resident of OEV.
"It was just it was the power. The power was just incredible."
Downed trees and power lines had blocked Lorne Ave, and Princess Ave. as well as Ontario St.
Clay Fournier was taking photos of his car for insurance purposes after it was crushed by a tree.
"I was in the washroom getting ready to take off, heard some bangs and came checked it out and tree just came right out of the ground," says Fournier.
Just a few meters away around the corner on Ontario St. a tree had been ripped from the ground, breaking the sidewalk and landed on a home.
The man renting the house was too shaken to appear on camera for CTV News but did say he was in the front room of the home, just a few feet away from where the tree hit.
"My cats were going crazy, and if it was a few feet to the left, I could have been really hurt," he said.
On Princess Ave, Cherie Renders was home, when a tree broke off and landed on her roof.
"It was scary," says Renders.
"It just started raining so I let the dogs in. I went to the front of the house and there's just trees on the whole side of my house.
So I called my husband and then he came from work and told me that it was on top of the roof and then there's a hole."
When her husband Steve returned, he noticed the tree had punctured the roof.
"There is three-by-three holes there roughly and they took off a couple of heat vents too," says Steve.
"It's hard to put my thoughts together now but honestly, I'm thankful to see friends and family out here to help out so that’s the encouraging part."
Across the city at the London International Airport, a plane owned by Diamond Aircraft Flight Centre was toppled over.
Stop lights were all over the city, as CTV News noticed power outages from Dundas and Adelaide, all the way near Dundas and Veterans Memorial.
Back in OEV, the cleanup was just getting underway.
"Everybody thinks that it can’t happen to you," says Steadman.
"With climate change, this is the new reality. It's intense, and you just have to be prepared."
A total of five fatalities have so far been reported as a result of the storm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.