Tornado ravages Ontario area, kills 11-year-old

TORONTO - An 11-year-old boy died when a tornado tore through a day camp, officials said Friday as residents across Ontario surveyed the damage a day after the violent storm wreaked destruction.

Several people suffered non-life threatening injuries at the day camp near the southwestern Ontario town of Durham at the Saugeen Conservation Area when a violent storm destroyed buildings and sent debris flying, Grey Country emergency services manager Mike Muir said. Police said debris killed the Durham boy, whose name was not released. Six other people were treated at a hospital and released.

Acting Mayor Dan Sullivan said it would take months for the town to recover.

Central and southwestern Ontario sustained most of the damage from the storm, which also hit parts of northern Ontario, meteorologists said.

About 69,000 homes and businesses lost power during the storm.

There were reports of funnel clouds Thursday evening in at least four areas. In Vaughan, a city that neighbors Toronto to the north, the storm flipped over cars and tore roofs off homes.

Environment Canada confirmed Friday a tornado struck the city of Vaughan, where a state of emergency has been declared.

Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson said the storm struck about 600 homes. She said 44 have been deemed inhabitable and many must be demolished.

"The devastation was certainly catastrophic," Jackson said.

Jackson said it's remarkable no one in Vaughan died or suffered a serious injury.

"A lot of residents are in a state of shock. They are now realizing with daybreak how much devastation, and how lucky they are to be alive," Jackson said.

Several streets of a residential Vaughn neighborhood were closed by police. Residents allowed back in said they had never seen anything like this in Canada.

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