As I write this it’s 7 pm on Sunday night and the extent of the damage in Goderich from what will soon be confirmed as a tornado looks devastating.
Goderich (pronounced God-rich) is a beautiful little town on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. Its special feature is the town square, in the centre of the octagonal traffic circle. The surrounding buildings are old and gorgeous. Here’s a “before” shot of a stretch of downtown.
After yesterday around 4 pm, many of those old buildings are wrecked. Piles of bricks tumbled from ancient walls that couldn’t stand up to the wind. Lots of 100 year old trees have been uprooted and Sifto, the world’s largest salt mine, has reportedly sustained some damage. At this moment injuries are reported to be minor, thank goodness.
I worked at CKNX in Wingham for 4 years and there’s one thing that’s certain about living in a town of 3,000 that’s not on water – you escape it whenever you can! Getaways meant the lake and that usually meant either Kincardine, Port Elgin or Goderich. I spent a lot of time there. In fact, just last summer I went to Goderich a couple of times for art festivals and other things. My heart hurts for the people of that beautiful little town. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature and sometimes she can be a real bitch.
UPDATE: Now we know that at least one person lost their life. I’m sure it’s no consolation to the man’s family, but it could have been so much worse.Â