Wind rips chunk off school roof
One pupil in gym slightly hurt, others all safe Hamilton police also check 200 to 300 homes
HAMILTON— Severe winds tore a chunk of the gymnasium roof off an elementary school here yesterday afternoon, less than an hour after classes ended. Some students at Lawfield Elementary School were still inside, but only one was hurt and all were accounted for swiftly after the storm ripped through this southwestern Ontario city at 4 p. m.
Witnesses reported shingles flying through the air as the sky grew eerily dark. Many believed a tornado or funnel cloud touched down. Environment Canada said it was too soon to say what caused the punishing weather. Hamilton police were canvassing residents of 200 to 300 homes in one wrecked neighbourhood where cars were mangled, large trees uprooted, power lost and gas leaks reported.
Sgt. Carol Pacey was driving home when a powerful gust swept across the road in front of her.
“ It was this huge sort of circular wind . . . and it had picked up leaves, huge branches . . . recycling bins and everything,” Pacey said. “It literally took them up and it had to have been taking them about 200, 300 feet in the air.”
Pacey said officers had yet to survey the damage fully and were going door to door to be sure residents were safe. The most severe damage appeared to be at Lawfield school. One young pupil said he watched as “ a big huge funnel cloud came. I saw it and I just ran, ran to the gym,” the boy told Global- TV News. Hamilton police said only one child was hurt but injuries were minor. A second school sustained minor damage.
All children “ involved in the affected schools have been accounted for,” police Chief Brian Mullan said. An industrial building in nearby Stoney Creek was severely damaged, too.
Resident Andie McHugh saw from her kitchen window “ a big black funnel cloud. I said to my boyfriend, ‘ I think it’s a tornado’ and just as I said that it went right past the back door and ripped the neighbour’s roof, the shingles off the roof,” McHugh told the local television newscast CH News. Environment Canada said winds gusted at close to 70 km/ h. Spokeswoman Rebecca Wagner said specialists would do a post- mortem of storm damage to determine the cause, and two investigators were en route last night.