Mom and six kids take cover as storm rips through their farm

A mother and six children huddled in the basement of their farm home as a violent storm approached Wyoming, Ont. Tuesday evening.

Most members of the Batterink family were home as the skies turned ominous.

“They were in the basement, just taking shelter and being safe with the kids,” said Calvin Batterink, the father of the children. “It was that scary.”

He was not far away, working in a field as the storm blew in.

Batterink told CTV News he was able to make his way home and immediately noticed his large drive shed was completely down.

But more concerned for his family, he thought it best to head for the house.

Calvin Batterink standing near some of the storm damage on his property outside Wyoming, Ont. July 20, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)“No sense looking out here right away. Got inside and make sure the family is safe. Went to the basement and stayed down there a while,” he added.

When the weather lifted, Batterink went outside to survey the damage — it is substantial.

The roof of the large shed is twisted and damaged. A tractor has smashed windows, and several steel farm wagon implements are either upended or smashed completely.

Behind the structure, a path of corn appears flatted by the wind.

“Who knows really what happened? But just the way the roof has lifted off, you might think it was more than just strong winds,” he added.

While the Batterink farm sustained the heaviest damage in the area, the storm also caused damage in town, primarily from rain.

“I believe it was 60 mm in a certain amount of time,” said Fire Chief Darryl Thompson.

A farm tractor damaged after a storm blew through Lambton County near Wyoming on Tuesday evening. July 20, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)In addition to water, multiple trees were knocked down and one nearly struck a home on Thames Street.

A woman who lives next door believes the residents were fortunate given the power of the storm.

“I’m very thankful that everyone is ok and that no property or our houses were damaged,” she said.

Back at the Batterink farm, Hank Batterink is happy his grandchildren are safe.

He lived on the farm for 45 years before moving into town and said he’s never seen comparable damage.

“We’ve had many [storms] before, but nothing with as much damage as this,” he added.

There have been no confirmed reports of tornadoes in the area.