Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (2024)

"Someone was watching over us, that's for sure. When you think about trailer parks in Texas, there's nothing left."

Author of the article:

Joanne Laucius

Published Jul 25, 2024Last updated 4days ago5 minute read

Join the conversation
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (1)

Devin Dubroy and his extended family have rented a cluster of cottages at the Bass Lake Lodge every summer for about a decade. No strangers to tornado warnings, they paid attention when cellphones started to buzz with tornado warnings at 7:37 p.m. Wednesday while they were enjoying birthday cake.

“You know, you get these all the time and nothing happens,” Dubroy said Thursday. “We probably sat there for two or three minutes, and we heard a loud noise that sounded like a train.”

Advertisement 2

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (2)

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.
  • Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.
  • Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
  • Support local journalism.

SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.
  • Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.
  • Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
  • Support local journalism.

REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

  • Access articles from across Canada with one account.
  • Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
  • Enjoy additional articles per month.
  • Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Article content

During a previous vacation, the family had discussed where they would gather in case of a tornado warning. They had decided to shelter in the laundry room at the lakeside resort near Lombardy because it was a concrete structure.

There were 37 people at the gathering, but seven of them were having dinner at a restaurant when the tornado warnings sounded. The other 30 hurried to the laundry room, squeezing themselves and seven dogs into the laundry room measuring just over 200 square feet.

“It was cold in there, so I went to grab some sweaters for the kids. And, on the way back, I heard that loud noise. I had never heard that in a thunderstorm before. So I looked back. And a minute later I saw a wall of water coming across the lake,” Dubroy said.

“The kids were scared, so the ladies were trying to sing songs and make it lighter for them. At one point, it got really bad and everything was blowing sideways and things were flying. We got away from the windows and put a board in front of the door. We were lucky we got everyone in and kept the kids safe,” he said.

“The lesson to learn in all this is to pay attention to warnings,” said Dubroy’s aunt, Margaret Lockyer.

Advertisement 3

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Residents and visitors were cleaning up debris and fallen trees Thursday after high winds hit the Perth area Wednesday night. According to the Northern Tornadoes Project, which aims to better detect tornado occurrences in Canada, a tornado had touched down near Perth.

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (3)

The Northern Tornadoes Project, based at Western University, based its findings on “video, radar and early damage reports.” The Perth damage appeared to be heaviest in the Kirk Ferry and Scotch Line area west of Perth.

Another tornado, part of the same weather system, touched down near Brossard, Que., a Montreal suburb, the researchers confirmed.

Environment Canada also confirmed a tornado strike seven kilometres from Perth. Warnings had been issued on Wednesday for Smiths Falls, Perth, eastern Lanark County, Westport, Charleston Lake, Merrickville-Wolford-Kemptville.

Arie Hoogenboom, mayor of the Township of Rideau Lakes, said Thursday he wasn’t aware of any major damage or issues with infrastructure in that region.

A Northern Tornadoes Project team was expected to examine the Perth-area tornado sites.

Advertisement 4

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the system of “active weather” on Wednesday was triggered by a cold front hitting a humid air mass, blanketing wide swaths of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.

“It’s one of the tricky parts of thunderstorm forecasting,” Cheng said. “It can be anywhere in the zone. You have to watch individual thunderstorms develop, wait for the popcorn to pop and see if it’s severe.”

But, he added: “Once it’s severe, it’s go time and we issue the weather alert.”

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (4)

Those who experienced Wednesday’s storm at Bass Lake Lodge said the torrential rain and high winds were there and gone within minutes, maybe even seconds. No one saw a funnel cloud or waterspout.

Bill Peterson, who has a lakefront trailer at the lodge, also received a warning on his cellphone. His wife, Rose, got down on the kitchen floor.

“It was maybe 30 seconds and it was gone,” he said.

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (5)

When he looked outside, all Bill Peterson could see was downed branches blocking the door. A large basswood tree and some smaller cedars had fallen, trapping the Petersons in the trailer until a neighbour came to their rescue with a battery-operated chainsaw. Bill believed it could have been more serious if the cedars had not blocked the larger tree as it fell.

Advertisement 5

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

“It’s a good community here. We all help each other out,” he said. “Someone was watching over us, that’s for sure. When you think about trailer parks in Texas, there’s nothing left.”

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (6)

Trevor Strickland was on the porch of a trailer with his two young daughters when he received the tornado alert on his cellphone.

“We said, ‘This isn’t going to be too bad.’ And then we saw the clouds rolling over these trees really fast. It was a bright white cloud. It was huge. And then we heard the noises. We just got into the trailer and there was a downpour,” Strickland said. “The trailer was rocking.”

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (7)

Just to the north, on the south side of Otty Lake, Judy Cowie and her family watched the storm roll in, then raced for the basement when a large tree fell.

“We had just been joking that afternoon saying we haven’t had a good storm in a while, because we often get storms on the lake,” she said Thursday as crews cleared fallen trees, “never thinking that this was going to happen to us.”

Public Safety Canada advises those who receive tornado warnings to go to the basement or take shelter in small interior ground-floor rooms such as bathrooms, closets or hallways. If there is no basement, shelter under heavy tables or desks and avoid windows, outside walls and doors.

Advertisement 6

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (8)

More than half of all deaths from tornadoes happen in mobile homes, says Public Safety Canada, which warns people to avoid cars and mobile homes in case of a tornado warning and instead to find shelter elsewhere, preferably in a building with a strong foundation. If no shelter is available, lie down in a ditch away from the car or mobile home.

With files from Marlo Glass

Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (9)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (10)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (11)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (12)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (13)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (14)
Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (15)

Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage andsign up for our newslettersso we can keep you informed.

Recommended from Editorial

  1. 'We know this is coming': More high-volume rainfall events in Ottawa's future
  2. Cleanup continues following Ottawa's severe storm

Article content

Comments

You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.

Create an AccountSign in

Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Trending

  1. Renfrew hospital gave interest-free loans to some employees
  2. Ottawa jetsetters: Here are 10 Canadian travel advisories to check before your next trip abroad
  3. Denley: How hard can it be to get Ottawa's Trillium rail line open?
  4. Racial stereotyping, microaggressions 'normalized' within PCO: report
  5. Meehan seeks to become Conservative candidate for Ottawa West-Nepean

Read Next

Latest National Stories

    Family recounts ordeal after high winds, 'wall of water' hit Rideau Ferry-area resort (2024)
    Top Articles
    Latest Posts
    Recommended Articles
    Article information

    Author: Greg O'Connell

    Last Updated:

    Views: 5429

    Rating: 4.1 / 5 (62 voted)

    Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Greg O'Connell

    Birthday: 1992-01-10

    Address: Suite 517 2436 Jefferey Pass, Shanitaside, UT 27519

    Phone: +2614651609714

    Job: Education Developer

    Hobby: Cooking, Gambling, Pottery, Shooting, Baseball, Singing, Snowboarding

    Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.