Perth tornado devastates family farm, community rallies to help rebuild

A young family near Perth, Ont., is facing the aftermath of a tornado that completely destroyed their farm last week.

The twister touched down unexpectedly, leaving devastation in its wake. The community has quickly come together to support the family during this difficult time.

“Wednesday evening was no different for us,” Mackayla Brady said of the harrowing experience. “I saw there was a thunderstorm warning, but we were inside. We had already put the boys to bed around 7:00. My husband was outside and I could see him videotaping.”

The video captured the tense moments as the tornado struck.

“We just got hit by a tornado, went through it, just crushed the shop, crushed it. We’re OK,” Brady’s husband can be heard saying.

The tornado initially tore through their crops before heading toward the barn.

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“We saw the large red sliding doors of our barn fly up to 90 degrees. That’s when we knew it was not a normal storm,” Brady said.

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“My husband yelled, ‘Go get the boys.’ We ran upstairs, grabbed them out of their cribs, and by the time we got downstairs, the barn was on the ground.”

Though the family was left devastated by the loss of their barn, they were grateful that their home and lives were spared. In the days following the disaster, they received overwhelming support from family, friends, and the community.

“We’ve had a really awesome group of family, friends and community come out and help us. We’ve gotten almost the whole shop cleaned up,” Brady said.

While the Bradys have insurance, the process of sorting out claims can be lengthy, and their animals need shelter in the meantime. An online fundraiser has been launched to help cover the costs of a temporary barn.

“There’s been some large anonymous donors, so I don’t know if that came from the community or where, but we’re very, very grateful for those things,” Brady said. “Those are going to be what help us…. With the amount of insurance that comes in, it’s not going to cover building a new barn or things like that.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Brady is focused on rebuilding, thankful for the safety of her family and the support they’ve received from the community.