Tornado leaves swath of damage in Midland, Ont.

A tornado tore through Midland, Ont. on June 23, the third tornado of the season in Ontario. A severe thunderstorm and funnel cloud ripped through the southern part of Midland, damaging property and forcing the community to declare a state of emergency.

Environment Canada confirmed a tornado touched down, but the exact timing, length, width and Fujita scale damage rating are still unknown, the agency reported.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has deployed its Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion (CAMP) to help affected residents. A team of trained IBC staff, including Ralph Palumbo, IBC’s vice president of Ontario, were in Midland to answer insurance-related questions for local residents affected by the storm.

“Fortunately, early reports indicate there were no serious injuries as a result of the storm,” Palumbo said. “But the property damage to homes, businesses and cars is extensive.”

The bulk of residential damage occurred at Smith’s Park, a mobile home development of approximately 323 units, Midland Mayor James Downer reported in a release. “Forty of the dwellings sustained substantial damage, some [of] which were turned over.”

Downer also reported roof damage to industries and business located in the King Street/Highway 12 area.

Aviva Canada sent three adjusters, a large loss adjuster and a specialty appraiser to the scene to handle the 30 to 40 claims the company had received as of press time. Wayne Ross, Aviva Canada’s vice president of national property claims, said at the time that he anticipated more claims would come in as owners went up to their trailers for the weekend.

RSA’s emergency response vehicle was deployed to the scene, said Irene Bianchi, RSA’s vice president of claims and corporate services. She added more than 100 houses were damaged during the storm.

Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. deployed members of its CAT team after receiving a number of calls from insurers. The company reports it was mostly property damage, no bodily injury. •