Windstorm Hurls Debris Through Downtown Toronto

Large pieces of debris were sent airborne and crashed down around buildings in downtown Toronto on Sunday afternoon, November 15, as a windstorm toppled trees, traffic lights, and power lines, leaving thousands of people without power.

This footage shows multiple large boards in flight close to high-rise buildings in downtown Toronto, including one which crashes down close to Helleiner, prompting her to jump back.

“This is seriously dangerous!!” she wrote on Twitter. “Boards flying everywhere, landing on the street and crashing into houses.”

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg warned Saturday that the strong winds forecasted for Sunday could “cause downed wires, power outages and can cause hazards from flying debris.”

After the storm hit on Saturday, Pegg tweeted that fire crews were “responding to a number of incidents including wires down and elevator rescues due to the high winds and power outages.”

Hydro One said on its website that 238,000 customers across Ontario had been affected by “high wind gusts of over 100 km/hour that continue to move east.” The company warned that customers in hard-hit parts of southwestern and central Ontario would be without power overnight, with crews working through Monday morning to repair the damage. Credit: @FlozoBozo via Storyful