Tornado hits Lachute

Everything in Lorraine Girard's Lachute backyard was torn apart by Tuesday's storm (Emily Campbell)

Residents of Lachute are cleaning up today after a tornado touched down in the west Quebec town last night.

Environment Canada says a tornado rated ef-1 hit Lachute with winds up to 180 km/h. Video posted on Twitter showed a dark cloud moving over several homes in the community.

Lorrain Girard was sitting at the dining room table with her husband when the sky opened up.

"It was my grandsons that I was really scared about. And then (my husband) told me to go down and I told him no I'mstaying here with my babies in my arms," Girard said.

"It's terrible to live that. I never saw something like this. Never," she added.

Girard's backyard is now a piece of rubble that illustrates just how powerful the storm was. Her neighbour's garage is now in her pool while the family's gazebo is several hundred feet away on a nearby street.

Mayor Carl Peloquin says 20 homes in the town have been left uninhabitable by the storm. Another 310 homes were damaged when the storm struck around 6 p.m. last night.

Carl Irobison's home had its roof torn off.  Part of his roof is in the backyard, the other is several blocks away on an electrical wire.

"The last time was about 50 years ago, so I was never thinking there would be a tornado here," he said.

Irobison and his family were only able to grab one set of clothes before their house was deemed unsafe.

"I think it will be two or three weeks before we can return," he said, adding that his insurance company will likely pay for damages.

Trees were uprooted or broken, and porches and fences were damaged.

Peloquin says 40 people were unable to return home last night and are staying in a temporary shelter. The storm knocked out power to about 50% of residents, but that number has now been reduced to approximately 30% of them.

On Facebook, the City of Lachute say no injuries were reported following the storm.  Police and firefighters have been going around checking on residents and the surrounding area to make sure everyone stays safe.