Like a wrecking ball: Heavy winds damaging property across Avalon Peninsula

Homeowners with projects under construction and business owners across the Avalon Peninsula are reeling from theeffects of a nasty wind storm that hasseen winds gust up to 158 km/h.

• Newfoundland Power warns tens of thousands could be without power overnight

• Hurricane-strength winds tear swath of destruction across northeast Avalon

At Lester's Farm in St. John's on Saturday, the winds tore apart at least fiveof the farm's greenhouses, ripping plants from their beds and decimating the farms plant stock.

Damage in parking lots

At grocery stores across the Avalon Peninsula, rogue shopping carts and cart corrals were a real concern.

The Sobeys parking lot near Long Pond was especially hard hit.

According to witness Bobby Baker, the cart corral flew into the air and landed on several vehicles.

Witnesses and workers then helped secure it in a safe location.

Ripped home apart in Mount Pearl

Across town in Mount Pearl, a home under construction was there one minute and gone the next.

Neighbour Trevor Menchions told CBC News that heavy winds completely decimated the roof and top floor of the home next door to him.

"We were looking out our back window and we just saw live chunks of it start to fall off," he said.

In all his time living on the Avalon peninsula, Menchions said he's never seen a wind storm of this magnitude.

"I'm staring out the back window while there's still a bit of daylight, seeing the big chunks of debris, and I'm watching cars slow down to look in because where there was a two-storey home, you've now got a one-storey with nothing."

Environment Canada says heavy winds are expected to subside overnight, while Newfoundland Power has confirmed that tens of thousands of customers throughout the Avalon Peninsula are still without power and may be until morning.