Heavy winds and strong rain wreaked havoc in Peel region on Wednesday evening, causing trees to fall and even homes under construction to blow over.
Jay Reddy, 38, was finishing up work Wednesday night at his job as a civilian employee with Toronto Police when he heard media reports about the damaged homes. He never imagined that the Brampton home he and his wife purchased for their young family — scheduled to be ready this summer — was one of them.
“Just shocked, especially since we drove by the house two weeks ago and everything looked OK,” the married father of one said. “I don’t know where we go from here. I don’t even know what happens in this type of situation.”
Reddy’s was one of two homes under construction that were blown down just after 5:30 p.m. on Quintette Close, in the area of Countryside Dr. and The Gore Rd.
Peel Regional Police said that construction workers were at the site when the homes collapsed, but that no one was injured. In the early evening police did, however, report traffic lights out at several Brampton intersections, including Tomken Rd. and Steeles Ave. E., and West Dr. and Glidden Rd., and instances of power lines being downed.
Reddy said he will try to get in touch with the builder of the project, LIV Communities, Thursday. He suspects the house will have to be built again “starting from scratch.”
There were also reports of trees down, including one at Heritage and Embleton Rds.
Environment Canada had issued a special weather statement for Mississauga and Brampton, calling for “one or two bands of intense showers and the odd thunderstorm.”
No estimate of total damage from the storm was available Wednesday night.
Read the full post in Toronto Star GTA
