Saskatchewan officials say about 100 people have been evacuated from the Kawacatoose reserve, following the declaration of a state of emergency after a tornado flattened nine homes and damaged a dozen others on Friday.
Kawacatoose First Nations Chief Darin Poorman said Saturday he expected to meet with provincial officials to determine what assistance the province can offer to those who have been left homeless by the twister.
A spokesperson with the Ministry of Social Services, Cathy Bulych, told The Canadian Press that some residents have been taken to hotels in nearby Wynard, while others have gone to hotels in Saskatoon.
Emergency officials are also on the reserve, ensuring residents have access to supplies like diapers, baby formula and medication.
The disaster assistance programs are kicking in the day after a severe storm cut a swath through the reserve near Raymore, Sask., in the eastern region of the province, uprooting trees and in one instance sucking a toilet out of a bathroom where a family was taking shelter.
Ken Dustyhorn said his nephew's house was damaged.
"They couldn't make it into the basement, I guess. They ducked into the bathroom and the toilet got sucked right out.
"They were ... going to try and make it into the basement but the roof fell in on them. But they're okay, all of them are alright."
It wasn't just the reserve that was hit. Town Coun. Bentz Brian said the town escaped unscathed, but some surrounding farms weren't so lucky.
"There's two for sure that their houses are destroyed. The houses are gone, like there's nothing left of them. And then there's two other farmyards that I know of that the houses are damaged, but quonsets and bins and stuff are gone.
"At the one place, there was I think four people home at the time. I guess they ended up seeing it coming or something and got downstairs."
Others echoed the sentiment a proverbial miracle had spared area residents from harm.
Candice Rosling, a mother of eight, recalls hearing "an angry mean roar" and a big explosion before her house was destroyed by the twister.
"It made everything shake. The roar... There was just a roar like you wouldn't believe. It just sounded so mean and angry... everything banging," Rosling told CP.
When the storm passed, Rosling and her husband ran to the site of her neighbour's home, fearing the worst.
"They were all there underneath the steps, the house that was thrown at my house," Rosling said. "They came crawling up. It's just amazing to see them come out of there because we thought for sure we were going to find somebody badly hurt, possibly dead."
Dave Carlsen, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, told CP that a preliminary analysis of photos of the damage suggest a tornado of at least an F2 on the Fujita scale tore through the area. That means it was packing winds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.
Environment Canada dispatched a team of storm specialists to conduct a first-hand survey of the damage on Saturday.
Friday's tornado followed a week of severe weather that battered the province. Residents of Yorkton, about 330 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, continued assessing damage to their homes Saturday as flood waters from last week began to recede.
On Canada Day, Mayor James Wilson declared a state of emergency in the city. About 70 people were forced to leave their homes, some of which may be beyond repair.
Premier Brad Wall hopes the government will move quickly to dispense financial assistance to those whose belongings were lost in the flood.
"The history of the provincial disaster assistance program is that money would flow in 12 months. We think that's unacceptable," Wall told CTV Regina.
With reports from CTV Regina and The Canadian Press
