Pontiac, Que., short on resources to clean up after tornado

Pontiac, Que., is still trying to determine when and how debris will be removed after Friday's tornado ravaged parts of themunicipality.

Mayor JoanneLabadie said her small municipality doesn't have enough resources to handlethe cleanup.

"The residents need answers on how this is going to get cleaned up and the municipality,we just don't have them yet," she said.

Roof torn from home as security cameras roll

7 years ago

Duration 0:17

Security cameras at the Luskville home of Stephan Quessy and Vronique Bourgault kept rolling as the tornado ravaged their home and even ripped off the roof of a neighbouring building.

They'realready paying for extra policing and overtime for the fire department and other city services. Labadiehopes the province can step in to provide some funding, but said the current election complicates matters.

"The answer I'm getting back from the province is that seeing as it's so close to the election, they cannot announce compensation," she said.

Quebec has contributed $1 million to the Canadian Red Cross for short-term aid, but Labadie said she doesn't expect any direct support from the government until the election is over next week.

The EF-3tornado that touched down in Dunrobin, just west of Ottawa, travelled across the Ottawa River to Breckenridge and Luskville in easternPontiac.

The tornado destroyed 25 homes and damaged at least 75 others. Several rooftopshavebeen replacedand power has been restored to the area, Labadie said.

Series of disasters

Pontiac is still reeling from other bouts of weatherin the past two years.

Rain and flooding in the spring and fall of 2017 caused damage to homes and culverts in the area.

"It's just devastating for a community like our municipality," Labadie said.

Friday'sEF-3tornado reached winds of265km/h, and according to Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, it was nearly 1.3 km wide.

"I've never seen anything like this before at all," Kimbell said.

The tornado tracked roughly 30 km from Dunrobin to Gatineau, Que., according to Kimbell.

Similar to 1994

One man who has seen something like this before is Richard Groulx, the head of Pontiac's fire department.

Groulx was a firefighter in Gatineauin 1994 when a tornado touched down in Aylmer,a part of Gatineau which is just southeast of Pontiac.

"I didn't want to go through it twice in one lifetime, but I've been through a few rodeos before," he said.

Aftermath of Aylmer, Que. Tornado in 1994

6 years ago

Duration 1:17

CBC archival footage in the aftermath of a tornado that touched down in Aylmer, Que., near Ottawa in 1994.

The 1994 tornado was also classified as an EF-3 and would have been comparable to Friday's, according to Kimbell.

But Groulx said it is hard for him to compare the two.

"When you get 40 years of fire experience you get used to a lot of situations," he said. "A storm like this is no different."