Southern Alberta homeowners face massive cleanup, rebuild after devastating storm
Monday's devastating storm in southeast Alberta has some families facing the daunting task of rebuilding and putting the pieces of their lives back together after losing nearly all their possessions.
Strong wind turned regular items into projectiles that ripped through homes, damaged vehicles, sent at least one garage airborne and had people running for shelter.
The catastrophic storm produced funnel clouds but, as of Wednesday, no confirmed tornado touchdowns in the area outside Medicine Hat.
Aerial view of the damage to Ryan DePape's home in Cypress County, Alta. following a July 18 storm.
Ryan DePape was outside his Cypress County home with his six-year-old and four-year-old sons Monday afternoon when the storm appeared to manifest out of nowhere.
"We were playing and then it happened fast, got dark and rainy and windy," recounted DePape. "So I shuttled them inside, buttoned up the house. I sent them downstairs and just when that happened, a wind came from the south, and gusted every window, broke every window in the main floor and sent glass across the main floor.
"At that point, debris — two-by-fours, shredded two-by-fours — penetrated the windows. They basically speared through the house and they're still sticking in the interior drywall right now. One went right by me, so (I) dove down there, down the stairs, just to get out of it."
A two-by-four lodged in a wall inside the DePape home in Cypress County, Alta. after a July 18 storm projected the piece of lumber into the house at high speed.
The wind blew in the bay doors of DePape's three-car garage and turned the structure into a makeshift kite, launching it into the air before crashing it to the ground below. The vehicles inside, including boats and ATVs, were destroyed and the gas line severed.
"The noise (from the storm) was tremendous," said DePape. "You couldn't really see something coming. It just almost formed on top of us. We were just, we were just in it. There was no notice. Within a minute it happened."
Aerial view of the damage to the DePape family's garage in Cypress County, Alta. following Monday's storm.
DePape sheltered in the basement alongside his sons and attempted to remain calm and level-headed while answering their questions as they awaited help. Some of his coworkers arrived in mere minutes after receiving his text and helped the family out of their home as the wind had finally calmed.
He soon realized a significant amount of the debris littered outside was not his and had arrived from off his property.
"The trailer windows, this metal, all these two-by-fours, I think it came from a construction site, maybe across the coulee," DePape told CTV News Calgary while touring the devastation on Tuesday. "And a lot of my stuff has gone across the fields to the north."
DePape says it's fortunate that his family and neighbours weren't seriously injured in the storm.
"There was no hospital visits, the family is safe, everyone in the surrounding areas is safe. All this other stuff is replaceable. I mean, we've poured our heart and soul into this place, so it's kind of heartbreaking to take. But yeah, it's all replaceable.
"We've kind of just been going through the rubble, baby books and old family pictures and stuff like that, but it's looking like a long road ahead."
The family has been in touch with their insurance agent but it's not known how much of the damage will be covered. DePape expects he won't be able to move back into his home until the fall at the earliest.
Irrigation equipment damaged in a field along Highway 523 in southeast Alberta following a July 18 storm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.