Windsor crews clean-up after tornado rips through city

Windsor city crewsspent Thursday cleaning up the destruction left behind by atornado that injured three people, damaged homes and knocked out power to thousands.

Environment Canada confirmed the tornado that hit Windsor was the second of two twisters to hit the region that night.Atornado touched down in LaSalle on Wednesday at about 7:10 p.m.

• Two tornadoes walloped Lasalle and Windsor
• Tornado touches down in LaSalle, Ont. and Windsor

By Thursday morning, gas leaks had been repaired, most roads had been cleared from fallen debris and damaged homes were being reassessed so people could return home, explained Mayor Drew Dilkens.

Fifteen homes were too badly damaged for residents to return, forcing people to stay with family and friends overnight. Most of the severe damage was done to homes on Riberdy Road, just south of the E.C. Row Expressway.

"No one on Riberdy Road...should re-enter a damaged building of any kind without getting the all clear from our building inspectors," Dilkens said.

Some homes remained unlivable by Thursday afternoon. Owners are working with the city on voluntarily complying with orders to repair.

The tornado knocked out power to 6,820 customers, but the bulk of those had electricity restored within 10 minutes, according to EnWin Utilities.After the first hour, the number of outages dropped to 200.

Power had been restored to most customers, with an estimated 30 properties still without electricity as of Thursday Evening. Power was expected to be fully restored by midnight, according to EnWin.

E.C. Row opened Thursday morning, but crews continued to clean up debris throughout the day.

Some traffic lights were still malfunctioning so drivers were urged to use caution at those intersections.

The Transit Windsor building, located in another area near Central Avenue and E.C. Row, suffered significant damages. Winds ripped solar panels from the roof and toppled trees on the property.