The community spirit which has sustained many during the COVID-19 pandemic has endured through the latest disaster - the Barrie Tornado of 2021 - Premier Doug Ford told local media Friday while touring the scene.
“We went through a real challenging time over the last 16, 17 months, everyone’s helped out and we’re going to do the same here, band together,” the premier said, surrounded by local MPPs, members of his cabinet and members of Barrie city council.
“We’re going to be here supporting them. If insurance doesn’t cover it then we’re going to step up and help them out," vowed Ford. “Anything the city needs, we’re going to be there for them.”
Ford said he was shocked to see the debris, broken houses and the devastation left in the tornado's wake.
Given that many houses lost their roofs and one actually collapsed, Ford said houses will be inspected and any resulting reviews will be examined to ensure the building codes were met.
Ontario's solicitor general and Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones credited the co-ordinated approach of emergency services in its initial search and rescue efforts and ongoing security as assessment and cleanup begins.
“We’ve had offers of support” with paramedics, police and fire offering their services immediately after the F2 tornado struck the southeast Barrie neighborhood, she said.
“That co-ordination also happens at a provincial level. Through (the office of) solicitor general we have the provincial emergency operations centre, but quite frankly, right now, Barrie is doing an excellent job and we have not needed to provide assistance.”
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, who was 10 years old when the 1985 tornado tore through his Allandale Heights neighbourhood, said the learned collective experience endures.
Resident after resident in the Prince William Way and Big Bay Point area told BarrieToday when they saw the rain coming horizontally Thursday and heard a massive noise they herded everyone into their basements.
“That probably saved their lives. To not have loss of life here is extraordinary,” Lehman said.
Lehman said he has had offers of help and notes of support on the municipal and provincial level and has seen that same support shared among the neighbours and the general community.
So far, he added, Barrie has responded well on its own. Down the road there could well be a need for disaster funding and other supports.
“For those folks who are without insurance and have lost all their possessions there may be opportunities there,” said Lehman.
Holding a pair of work gloves, Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin encouraged local residents to help any way they can, including picking up the debris off the lawns of the affected areas.
“Bring gloves, bring brooms, the community’s really come together. We’ve got the Allandale Home Hardware crew that was out here today, handing out brooms, gloves, shovels, what have you.
“It’s all hands on deck today.”
She said there’s been concern about the debris and interest in cleaning up.
There have also been requests for counselling to deal with the shock and trauma some experienced by the disaster.
Of the more than 100 residents who have been displaced, many will require long-term housing where families can live while their homes and their neighbourhood is rebuilt.
Khanjin encouraged anyone with available housing to make that available.
Lehman said the Red Cross and insurance companies booked hotel rooms for those who were evacuated, but many spent the night with friends and family.
There will likely be some long-term concerns in an already tight housing market that demands some of the country’s highest rents.
“The pressure on our housing market when we lose any housing units increases, that’s why we’re trying to get so much more built, the subdivisions across the street are some of the new growth that will occur in Barrie,” he said referring to the land on the south side of Mapleview Drive that was acquired from Innisfil.
“For these folks the focus today needs to be on helping them with their lives that are torn apart and certainly help them recover their treasured possessions.”
Of the 10 people who were taken to hospital, he added, all but two have been released.
Mike McCann, the city councillor for the ward, said he has noticed a difference between what he saw Thursday night and how the area appeared Friday. He said he saw a lot of hope in the residents as he toured the area.
“We don’t know exactly where the need is going to be in 12 hours, 24 hours but this community, this province is on the balls of its feet, ready to help out,” he said.
