‘There was a ton of damage’: Oshawa resident cleans up debris from Saturday’s downburst

Trees more than five metres tall have been completely uprooted and debris is scattered across Mike Lane’s yard after a downburst hit the Oshawa area on Saturday.

Lane even found a kitchen sink in his backyard and lost a 14-foot trampoline to the violent windstorm.

“We don’t know where it came from, but it’s in our backyard,” he said.

“There was a ton of damage … It’s shock instantly … When do we ever see tornadoes or downbursts? You don’t assume something that bad is going to happen.”

Residents in the area originally thought a tornado had touched down, but Environment Canada later confirmed it was a downburst.

“A downburst is violent gust of wind coming out of the storm but it’s more of a ‘whooshing’ wind coming out of the front end of the storm as opposed to the more focused and narrow rotation of a tornado,” Geoff Coulson, a Warning Preparedness Meteorologist with Environment Canada, said.

“Both events are very dangerous. In both events we need to be taking solid shelter to stay safe,” he said.

Lane is a personal contractor and said he believes the total damage could ultimately cost over $15,000.

“Just as a rough estimate, we were told it’s going to be $5,000 to $6,000 for the trees alone,” Lane said.

He said he hopes his insurance company will jump in and cover the costs.

“You hear these horror stories about acts from god – whether this is covered or that’s covered,” he said.

“And that’s a question this whole community will be asking and hoping their insurance companies will have positive results and answers.”

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Alf Kwinter, founding partner with Singer Kwinter said insurance companies don’t always cover costs incurred from weather events, but that doesn’t necessarily mean policy holders will be stuck with the bill.

“The insurance company will cover what they believe the contract requires them to cover. The homeowner has an obligation to reduce their damage cost,” Kwinter said, adding affected residents might want to get a legal opinion.