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‘That has to be a tornado’: Smiths Falls resident says of Wednesday’s storm

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‘That has to be a tornado’: Smiths Falls resident
Many Smiths Falls, Ont., residents are picking up the pieces after a harsh storm ripped through their community on Wednesday, Aug. 29 – Aug 30, 2018

A quiet morning in eastern Ontario turned sour quickly on Wednesday, Aug. 29, when high winds and sheets of rain caused havoc.

“I looked out the window and all I saw was what I thought was a tornado,” said Rebecca McGovern a resident of Smiths Falls, Ont.

The storm hit Smiths Falls at around 1 p.m. and McGovern says the “tornado” ripped through her yard and her neighbour’s farm shortly after.

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The farm across the street from McGovern had two of its three barns flattened and the debris from each was tossed hundreds of yards in all directions.

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The owners of the farm refused to speak on-camera, but the aunt of the owner said her nephew confirmed that no one was injured and that he had been working around the clock to repair the damages.

McGovern has lived in Smiths Falls for nearly two decades and said she had never experienced a storm like this.

“We were bunched together staring out the window watching this tornado destroy our neighbour’s farm, and then I turned to my boys and said, ‘We should go to the basement,” said McGovern.

Environment Canada has yet to confirm or deny that a tornado touched down in the Smiths Falls area on Wednesday.

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