10 years on, Ontario remembers destruction from historic 18 tornadoes in 1 day

Nicole Chiasson still remembers hiding in the tack room of her horse's trailer as the fury of the most powerful storm she'd ever seen raged all around her.

On the 10-year anniversary of a storm system that saw 18 tornadoes tear through southern Ontario, that memory remains etched in her mind.

"It was just crazy," she said. "We still talk about it all the time."

Chiasson was competing in a horse show at the Royal Canadian Riding Academy in Newmarket on Aug. 20, 2009 when the storm started to roll in.

As the winds picked up, Chiasson and a friend pulled her horse, Jamboree, into a trailer.

Then, like something out of The Wizard of Oz, the farm's sign took flight and started sailing through the air, she said.

"It was incredibly windy. Any equipment, the fences, everything was getting destroyed. Everything was blowing around," she said. "I was absolutely freaked out. I thought there was a good chance there was going to be multiple people and horses injured.

"It felt like forever, but it was really only probably five to 10 minutes."

Though no one was hurt at that location, the damage was extensive. The roof of one of the farm's indoor riding arenas was torn right off. Jumps were destroyed, trucks and trailers were damaged, and fencing was totally destroyed.

Destruction widespread, 1 death

Destruction was common across the region that day. Tornadoes left a trail of debris and damage in several areas, including Newmarket, York Region and communities near Barrie and Oshawa.

The first of 18 tornadoes that day touched down in Durham, where flying debris killed an 11-year-old boy. 

The storm damaged hundreds of buildings, uprooted trees and ripped down power lines. Flights were also cancelled at Toronto's Pearson Airport and major roadways in the Greater Toronto Area were briefly flooded.

At the peak of the power outage period following the storm, 69,000 Hydro One customers were without electricity.

Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, told CBC News that day marked the most tornados ever seen in one region in Canadian history.

"We had tornado warnings out from, my gosh, Peterborough to Hamilton," he said.

Some saw tracks that were about three to four kilometres long, Phillips said, with a width of about 100 metres. Winds surged to anywhere from 175 km/h to 225 km/h — making it remarkable that there weren't more deaths, he said.

"Fortunately, we don't often see days like that. But historically, it was very significant," he said.

Damage was estimated at $100 million. Dozens of homes were just totally obliterated, Phillips said.

'It was a war zone'

Linda Jackson, now a regional councillor for Vaughan, was the city's mayor when the tornado hit.

"We were getting reports, but there was nothing that prepared me for what I saw," she said. "It was sheer and utter destruction."

Homes had been torn apart. Trees were ripped from the ground, and debris was strewn all over. 

Vaughan and Durham declared states of emergency to mobilize outside help and gain access to funds from provincial and federal agencies.

"That night, it was a war zone," Jackson said.

Nadia Orrico saw that damage first hand, when the winds surged around her home of 22 years in Vaughan.

An "accidental sun roof" was torn into her son's bedroom, she said. The pool her family had just built in their back yard was similarly trashed, as that's where her neighbour's swing set ended up.

The sound the storm made still sticks with her.

"It was a very eerie sound," she said.  

If nothing else, the storm dispelled the notion that tornadoes only really happen in rural areas, Phillips said.

"It proved that you can live in a city, but you can have a tornado in your back yard."

adam.carter@cbc.ca