The heavy rain, strong wind and hail took a toll on Carrot River yesterday (Facebook/Chad Trombley)

By Cam Lee

Carrot River storm

Damaged roofs, snapped trees after major storm hits Carrot River

Jul 3, 2020 | 12:00 PM

The town of Carrot River was hard hit by a vicious storm that plowed its way through the northeast on Thursday.

Heavy rain, strong wind, and some significant hail fell across wide swaths of the northeast, and Carrot River was no exception.

The aftermath of yesterday’s storm in Carrot River (Facebook/Chad Trombley)

Town Administrator Kevin Trew told northeastNOW there was damage done across the community.

“Crews and property owners and business owners are still assessing the damages that are out there,” Trew said. The rain, wind, and hail hit the town in about a 15-minute span, according to Trew.

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“Lots of trees damaged, damaged trees falling on housing, falling on cars,” Trew said.

Thankfully, there are no reports of injuries.

Trew said many of the trees have been removed already thanks to the help of friends and neighbours.

Two buildings in the community sustained significant damage as well.

“Pasquia Place, our assisted living facility, a significant portion of the roof blew off…a lot of damage there,” Trew said. “Our high school gymnasium roof, also significant portions of the roofing blew off of the gym roof.”

Trew said the town and residents are very lucky that most of the debris that flew off the roofs didn’t hit anything. There was some debris damage from shingles on the west side of town, and Trew said some of the roofing material lifted on a handful of local businesses.

Significant hail fell on Carrot River Thursday, July 2 (Facebook/Chad Trombley)

He said an ag dealership in town had some bins blow over, and there were also bins and augers blown over in the surrounding rural municipality.

Hailstones were smaller than golf balls, according to Trew, and even today some of the hail that had fallen outside of the town office was still there.

The cleanup and damage assessment has just started.

Heavy rain accompanied the strong wind and hail in Carrot River July 2 (Facebook/Chad Trombley)

“There’s just been a lot of help, a lot of reaching out even from neighbouring communities to help out,” Trew said. He added insurance adjustors should be busy in the community over the coming days.

The Town of Carrot River has opened the gate to the tree dump so residents and business owners can dump any damaged trees.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974