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In photos: Ottawa-area tornado leaves broken power lines, levelled homes, fallen trees in its wake

Click to play video: 'Golfball-size hail hits Ottawa neighbourhood as storm, tornado rolls through'
Golfball-size hail hits Ottawa neighbourhood as storm, tornado rolls through
WATCH: Golfball-sized hail pummeled Dunrobin, Ontario in the Ottawa area on Friday as severe storms moved through the area, with a tornado touching down damaging buildings and injuring several people – Sep 22, 2018

After destroying dozens of homes in the Ottawa-area neighbourhood of Dunrobin and in Gatineau, Que., a tornado that touched down in Ottawa Friday night left several people injured, including a handful in critical condition.

The tornado hit on Friday evening, demolishing homes in the town of Dunrobin to the northwest of the city before crossing over to the town of Gatineau, which lies directly to the north of Ottawa in the province of Quebec.

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While the damage has not yet been assigned a numerical value, the extent of the damage to city infrastructure and pedestrian areas is severe. Hydro Ottawa president Bryce Conrad likened the aftermath of the twister to the devastating ice storm which hit Ottawa in 1998.

Videos and photos posted to social media depict a harrowing scene. The twister tore roofs off homes and overturned cars on Highway 50 — and the cleanup was just beginning on Saturday morning.

The region of Dunrobin experienced significant damage and power is out for tens of thousands of people across the Ottawa-Gatineau region. The hardest hit areas of the city are Dunrobin, Craig Henry, Arlington Woods, the Hunt Club–Riverside area and the Paul Anka–McCarthy area.

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High winds damaged part of Ottawa’s major electrical substations and officials said around 200,000 people on both sides of the river were without power. Ottawa and Gatineau together have a population of around 1.3 million people.

Here are some photos of the tornado’s aftermath: 

Damaged apartment buildings are shown after a tornado caused extensive damage to a Gatineau, Quebec neighbourhood forcing hundreds of families to evacuate their homes on Friday, September 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand.
Apartment buildings are shown after a tornado torn roofs off and windows blown out after a tornado caused extensive damage to a Gatineau, Quebec neighbourhood forcing hundreds of families to evacuate their homes on Friday, September 21, 2018. Global News. Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press
People collect personal effects from damaged homes following a tornado in Dunrobin, Ontario west of Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A young couple surveys the damage to their home following a tornado in Dunrobin, Ontario west of Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Power lines were snapped in half by a tornado that ripped through the Ottawa-Gatineau region Friday night. Hydro Ottawa.
Dunrobin,Ontario after a tornado ripped through the city, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands without power. Anthony Farnell, Global News. Anthony Farnell
Dunrobin,Ontario after a tornado ripped through the city, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands without power. Anthony Farnell, Global News.
Dunrobin,Ontario after a tornado ripped through the city, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands without power. Anthony Farnell
Dunrobin,Ontario after a tornado ripped through the city, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands without power. Anthony Farnell, Global News.
People collect personal effects from damaged homes following a tornado in Dunrobin, Ontario west of Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.
Damage to a home in Gatineau after a tornado blew through the area on Sept. 21, 2018. Bryan Mullan/Global News
Damage to a home in Gatineau after a tornado blew through the area on Sept. 21, 2018. Bryan Mullan/Global News
Damage to a home in Gatineau after a tornado blew through the area on Sept. 21, 2018. Bryan Mullan/Global News
Residents board buses after apartment buildings had roofs torn off and windows blown out after a tornado caused extensive damage to a Gatineau, Quebec neighbourhood forcing hundreds of families to evacuate their homes on Friday, September 21, 2018. . Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press
Some of the damage left by a tornado in Gatineau on Sept. 21, 2018. Facebook/Vincent-Carl Leriche
Some of the damage left by a tornado in Gatineau on Sept. 21, 2018. Facebook/Vincent-Carl Leriche
Some of the damage left by a tornado in Gatineau on Sept. 21, 2018. Facebook/Vincent-Carl Leriche
A building that was damaged after a tornado ripped through Gatineau on Sept. 21, 2018. Facebook/Vincent-Carl Leriche

–With files from Reuters. 

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