Although it was hot and humid, residents in Windsor and LaSalle were not expecting any severe weather the evening of August 24, 2016, when two tornadoes touched down.
The first formed over the Detroit River and blew the roofs off two homes on Victory St. in LaSalle.
A tornado ripped through parts of Windsor near Central Ave. on August 24, 2016. (Photo courtesy of Maureen Revait)
Later, Environment Canada would confirm the twister registered EF-1 with winds of up to 175 km/hr. The second tornado, near Central Ave. and the EC Row Expy. had winds of up to 220 km/hr and registered EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
Considering the extent of the damage in an industrial park and to 15 homes on Riberdy Rd. in Windsor, Fire Chief Steve Laforet admits he was surprised there were no serious injuries.
"It was a little bit later in the day relative to the industrial park, so there wasn't a lot of workers present," he says. "The damage to the homes on Riberdy was quite significant, but none of the residents received any significant injuries, so we did get lucky in that regard."
Crews assess and clean up the damage left near the EC Row Expressway and Central Avenue in Windsor on August 25, 2016 after a tornado hit the area. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
After numerous exercises with provincial officials, the training for emergency officials just kicked in.
"When everybody arrived at the command post and the EOC [Emergency Operations Centre], there was a sense of familiarity," says Laforet. "There was no one there that was new. No one there that you hadn't met, so the team work and the cooperation was there right from the start."
As for whether the city is prepared for the next tornado, he says emergency officials learned a lot, and he feels the response will be even better next time.
"The lessons learned and the things that we took from it are not just relative to a tornado," says Laforet. "There are lessons and things that you can apply to any future emergency."
