Tweed, Ont. continues cleanup efforts after weekend tornado – Kingston | Globalnews.ca

Sunday’s storm has resulted in a state of emergency for residents of the Tweed area.

Cleanup crews continue their work along Highway 7 near Tweed after a tornado touched down and the municipality remains in a state of emergency.

“We’re very, very lucky that no one — when you see the devastation in some of the homes that we saw on video because we couldn’t get in to see the homes — that no one was more seriously hurt or killed. So we’re very, very thankful,” said Tweed Mayor Jo-Anne Albert.

Albert commended cleanup crews for their ability to get roads open to emergency vehicles and local traffic by Monday evening and their continued work cleaning debris off the roads as power continues to be restored.

“We still have no power. Every day they keep saying tomorrow, now it’s supposed to be six o’clock tonight, but we’ll see. But we’re managing,” said Tweed-area resident Margaret Davis.

Davis was at the Tweed arena picking up supplies as her home remains without power and water.

“We don’t have many trees left, but we’re thankful that no life was lost. The roof of our gazebo is gone, but that can be replaced,” she added.

Two tornado-related injuries were reported in the area and for Albert, they hit close to home.

Her grandson, Brandon, and a close friend of his were both travelling in trucks when the storm hit.

“Brandon’s truck was picked up by the tornado, I think it must have touched down, and flew through the air over 300 metres to the opposite side of the road,” said the mayor.

Albert said both young men have minor injuries and are recovering well.

“The last storm was just four weeks ago, in May, five weeks and we met as an emergency group then to say what we need to be ready and it came sooner than we thought,” she added.

The emergency council has already installed a water tap at the Tweed arena and is further discussing safety steps, including the installation of wiring for a generator at the community centre.

Area residents are now able to take showers, pick up bottled water and access information on additional services at the arena between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Municipal officials are saying these services will likely remain available until all power in the area is restored.