Monday, August 22, 2011

God - He - Rich - Sat - rap

CREATION is looking for management change - - considering pro-active involvement in take-over (going back in time)

Image Detail

Deadly tornado heavily damages Ont. town of Goderich

Date: Mon. Aug. 22 2011 8:33 AM ET

Fallen trees and flipped-over cars litter the streets of Goderich, Ont., where a devastating tornado ripped through the Lake Huron town on the weekend, leaving one man dead and dozens of buildings damaged or destroyed.

It was the most powerful tornado to touch down in Ontario in more than a decade, as Environment Canada estimates winds blew through the community at speeds approaching 300 kilometres per hour.

On Monday morning, the people living in downtown Goderich were waking up to streets strewn with uprooted trees, shattered glass and other debris that was tossed about by the twister Sunday afternoon.

"It looks downtown simply like a bomb has gone off, there is no other way to describe it," CTV's Joel Bowey reported on Canada AM Monday morning.

Bowey said some buildings had been "completely levelled" by the tornado, while the strong winds had blown all the glass out of others.

The storm also downed power lines, tore roofs off of houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets.

"Cars have been toppled over, trees have gone through the windows of cars," Bowey said, noting that some 900 people were still without power early Monday morning.

Goderich Mayor Delbert Shewfelt, who declared a state of emergency on the weekend, was due to make a statement to the public on Monday morning, local radio station CKNX reported.

Police confirmed a fatality late Sunday, naming Norman Laberge, of nearby Lucknow, Ont., as the male victim who died while working at the Sifto salt mine when the storm hit.

Bowey said there have been no other reports of fatalities stemming from the storm.

The people who saw the tornado rip Goderich apart on Sunday described the shock of seeing a twister emerging around them.

Sean Carver said he watched the storm approach from his patio.

"The storm was quick, it blew through and it was gone," Carver told The Canadian Press.

"The so-called scary part is literally only about two minutes, half an instant, and then the winds go back down to about 80 kilometres an hour, but you know you're safe again."

At Joe Roosemalen's house, the first sign of trouble was when the power started flickering. He was hosting a Sunday afternoon birthday party for his daughter and her friends when the storm hit.

"I basically looked out the window and just saw the twister right in front of us," Roosemalen told CTV's Canada AM in a telephone interview on Monday morning.

Ushering his daughter and her guests into his basement, Roosemalen said they quickly caught on to what was happening.

"It was pretty much a panic," he said.

Waking up a day after the devastation, Roosemalen said he has a hydro pole "sitting against the front door of the house and on top of the roof," as well as a backyard filled with fallen trees.

With files from The Canadian Press


Glen E.P. Kealey
The Nordan Sculptor