A series of small miracles ensured that the violent tornado that hit the Laurentians on Saturday evening caused no injuries or deaths despite the considerable material damage.
• To read also: [EN IMAGES] A furious tornado in the Laurentians
“I thought it was the end. I thought the house was leaving”.
That’s what was going through Mike Bernier’s mind when he was hiding in his basement as the gust approached his property early Saturday evening.
“When I came back, it was as if you had put a sweeper on each of my ears”, describes Mr. Bernier, whose residence was spared.
It is that a tornado came to life from the showers in Mont-Tremblant, and finally raged in Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard.
End of the world scenes
Winds of 200 km/h offered catastrophic scenes: streets completely blocked, roofs torn off, various goods ejected into nature and a considerable number of uprooted trees.
Not far from Mr. Bernier, a couple had the scare of a lifetime. A resident was filming the arrival of the tornado, while her husband was in the garage.
However, the wind completely destroyed the garage. ” Nope ! Nope ! shouts the lady in a video on Facebook.
Finally, the man was hidden under his vehicle during the sequence, which would have saved his life, reported several neighbors aware of the event.
A little further, the 18-year-old daughter of Chantal Gagné arrived at the last moment by car to take shelter.
“Ramps have been pulled up, trees uprooted. In the past, I had a forest, I no longer have a forest. My BBQ, which hit my daughter’s car, ended up on the other side [of the field], lists Ms. Gagné. She just had time to run home. »
As the Journal passed, relatives of this mother were already busy replacing pieces of the roof that were blown away.
Collective support
Moreover, the scenes of mutual aid multiplied on Sunday in the affected sectors of Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard.
During our interview with Chantal Gagné, a neighbor intervened, shears in hand. “Did you need anything?” asked Julie Anne Bourret.
A little later, we saw a group of citizens who were taking care to cut several branches to restore access to a small path.
“We are all neighbors and we help each other. [Saturday], I finished in the dark, ”said Luc Malo, before purring his chainsaw.
“In situations like that, you have to take charge,” insists Mayor Claude Charbonneau.
VICTIMS OF A TREE AMBUSH
Three people returning from the airport by car were surprised to see trees falling one after the other in front of them at the start of the storm. Another eventually fell behind the vehicle, pinning the passengers, who escaped unscathed. “We were very scared,” admits Marie-Claude Nolin.
A TOUCHING MOBILIZATION
The gusts caused the fall of several trees around the family home of Isabelle Jacques. Quickly, several people mobilized to cut the wood and store it piece by piece. “I realize that I am lucky, that I have a lot of close friends,” underlines Isabelle Jacques.
A SHAVED WOOD
The tornado that shook Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard almost swept away the house that Philippe Godin has lived in for twenty years. As he was getting ready to have dinner with his wife, the storm suddenly arrived. She uprooted and razed dozens of red pines spread over a vast area.
“Shit,” said Mr. Godin when he saw the damage. However, the one who displayed a disarming calm in the circumstances saw only some damage to his roof.
“What do you want us to do? Even if I start crying and crying, it will change absolutely nothing, ”he relativizes.
