Dangerous storms produce deadly EF2 tornado in Quebec
Environment Canada verified an EF2 tornado struck the residential area of Mascouche, Que., on Monday.
Cleanup is underway across southern Quebec after a line of dangerous thunderstorms produced at least one tornado that resulted in one death in the residential area of Mascouche on Monday afternoon.
Environment Canada assessed the damage and gave the tornado a preliminary EF2 rating Tuesday morning. This suggests winds between 180 to 200 km/h were associated with the twister. Further investigation will determine if more tornadoes occurred in the area.
MUST SEE: Deadly tornado hits Quebec as severe storms strike Central Canada
Police officials confirmed that Jacques Lefebvre, 59, perished in the storm. That's after the shed he had taken shelter in was lifted away, CBC reported.
"Houses were damaged, trees were broken and objects thrown over near 3 kilometres," said Environment Canada in the storm summary.
According to local fire members, about 50 homes were damaged by the tornado. It was also reported the Canadian Red Cross is deploying teams to the community, where it is expecting to help 50-100 people displaced by the tornado.
"You'd think it's a scene from an American movie, but we're in Quebec," said Guillaume Tremblay, the mayor of Mascouche in a CBC report.
At the height of the storm, Hydro-Québec reported more than 50,000 customers lost power.
Video of the twister quickly surfaced on social media Monday afternoon, prompting Environment Canada to issue tornado warnings, which were later dropped.
This is Quebec's fifth confirmed tornado of 2021 so far.
MUST SEE: Saskatchewan and Quebec nab Canada's first tornadoes in 2021
Below is a selection of visuals of the tornado and severe thunderstorms that surfaced on social media.
DAMAGE ON THE GROUND TELLS US THE TORNADO'S STRENGTH
Thumbnail courtesy of Vicky Raymond.