Ontario hammered by series of thunderstorms, tornadoes

A series of severe thunderstorms that reportedly spawned at least five tornadoes ripped through Ontario on Aug. 20, causing widespread damage to homes and properties and one confirmed fatality.
Insurance Bureau of Canada has sent representatives to one of the hardest-hit areas, the Woodbridge/Maple area of Vaughan, Ontario, to field questions from storm victims about their insurance.
Peter Kimbell, a representative of Environment Canada, told Canadian Underwriter that, as of press time, Environment Canada had dispatched five teams to conduct damage survey in the following areas:
•    Vaughan (north of Toronto);
•    Durham (south of Owen Sound);
•    Restoule (south of North Bay);
•    Maple (north of Toronto); and
•    Chatham (in Southwest Ontario).
Kimbell said he “could not confirm with certainty that the funnel clouds were tornadoes,” but the video evidence indicates that there is “no doubt.”
Environment Canada is still working to determine the intensity of those tornadoes. Storms of this nature in Southern Ontario typically register as a F0 or F1 (with F5 being the most intense), the Globe and Mail reported.
Typically if winds are strong enough to remove a roof from a fairly well-built structure, it suggests a possible F2 tornado, Kimbell said, although he added that this has yet to be confirmed in relation to the Ontario storms. An F2 tornado has wind speeds between 180 km-h and 240 km-h.
The areas hardest hit were Durham — where the one confirmed fatality occurred, The Toronto Star reports — and the Vaughan and Woodbridge area to the north of Toronto.
Approximately 120 homes in the Vaughan area were reported to have sustained severe damage, The Star reported.
IBC said in a press release that although policies vary from insurer to insurer, generally speaking, damage caused by wind or hail — such as windows broken by falling trees or branches — is covered.
Water damage to homes as a result of holes caused by wind or hail is also usually covered, the release adds.
IBC requests consumers to document all property losses in order to facilitate claims processing.