Hundreds volunteer to clean up after tornado hits south central Alberta

Clean up continues in Mountain View County after a terrifying tornado touched down between Didsbury and Carstairs on Canada Day.

Amber and Darryl Nielsen, along with their four kids, were working in their yard on Saturday afternoon when they saw a funnel cloud in the distance.

Amber says the moments after were a blur.

“At first, it seemed a little surreal. We were shocked by it,” she said.

The Nielsen family quickly left. When they returned, they found their cars destroyed, their house windows blown out and part of the roof missing.

“We feel very blessed that, you know, we have a house that’s still here. Some of our neighbours weren’t so lucky,” Darryl said.

The family says they’re also blessed to have fields full of volunteers helping with the tornado clean up.

RCMP say 14 homes were damaged and five were completely lost.

No people were seriously hurt, but dozens of livestock were killed.

“We’re just grateful that even though something really awful happened, so many good things also happened because of the community that we live in,” Amber said.

Complete strangers from different regions spent several hours on Monday sorting through debris, searching for any valuables left behind.

“We brought our side-by-side and our wheelbarrows and pitchforks,” said MaryAnn Sparling, a Carstairs resident.

“We just like to stick by people and do what we can to help. That’s what Carstairs is all about. We’ll be here as long as they need us.”

Angela Aalbers, the reeve for Mountain View County, says a disaster recovery centre has been set up in Didsbury and more supports are available online for impacted residents.

She says they welcome volunteers, but have a message for those passing through just to take a look.

“Our request is please stay away. Unless you are there to help and support the recovery of those impacted residents, your presence is actually making things a lot worse,” Aalbers said.

Nathan Cooper, the MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, says the province is ready to help as needed.

He adds the community support is unmatched.

“Building community, coming together, supporting each other, it is exactly what Albertans are and it is the thing that makes me so proud to be able to represent this region,” Cooper said.

On average, Alberta sees 15 tornadoes per season, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

This marks the 13th tornado of the year and by far the most destructive.

“As devastating as all of this is, it’s healing to see everybody come together and humanity just survive,” Darryl said.

ECCC and the Northern Tornadoes Project are set to release their findings on the force of the tornado on Tuesday.