Uxbridge community still rebuilding one year after tornado touchdown

It’s been one year since a natural disaster swept across southern Ontario and Quebec, when a tornado left at least 11 people dead, downed trees and power lines and caused extensive damage to buildings including many in Uxbridge.

The tornado that was embedded in a derecho, a windstorm associated with a line of thunderstorms, and Uxbridge was one of the hardest hit locations.

“We declared a state of emergency within minutes,” said Dave Barton, the mayor of the township of Uxbridge.

The difference a year makes – the stop sign has been repaired and the trees cleaned up, but the scars of an EF-2 tornado can still be seen and felt throughout the town of Uxbridge.

“People didn’t feel safe in their homes for a little while, and still when we get a strong wind, people are still really nervous of what can happen,” said Barton.

On May 21, 2022, the storm quickly moved across southern Ontario leaving hundreds of thousands without power, with the estimated cost of damages coming to more than $1 billion.

Not only were homes destroyed, but local businesses took a major hit as well. Joanne Richter co-owns The Second Wedge Brewing Co. with her husband Rob, and when the storm hit, the two were gearing up for the summer’s patio session.

“We were looking forward to finally getting back on our feet after two years of pandemic closures, and then on that early afternoon of the 21st, it was just catastrophe,” said Richter.

Trees landed on the roof of the brewery and damaged most of the building, forcing the couple to move their brewing operation elsewhere. While clean up has taken place, it has taken all year to rebuild the brewery.

“If we had a choice of rebuilding something special, or not having a tornado, we would have stuck with what we had – but here we are,” said Richter.

“Friday was the first day that we were open to the public again here on site, and we are only outdoors because the building is still under construction for another month or so.”

Richter tells CityNews that the couple had good insurance and because of that, they were able to survive.

“We did have business interruption insurance coverage and have not had to completely stress over the past year and we are having things replaced as we go. The business interruption insurance coverage ends this weekend, so we are on our own now,” said Richter.

“I feel optimistic about the coming year, especially over the summer months, I feel like we are going to be full up and full of happy people again.”

But Barton says that not all residents of the town were that lucky, and several apartment buildings were damaged – some are still not able to be occupied.

“The people that could least afford to be displaced unfortunately were. The good news in all the building are closed in, now they just have to finish work inside,” said Barton. “We hope that in the next six to 10 months everyone will be back home.”

The province provided almost $900,000 in disaster relief immediately following the storm, and several programs have been put in place to help under-insured residents.

“We will come out of this stronger than we came into it,” said Barton.

“We applied for funding through the province, we got about 90 per cent of what we asked for, but even that, there’s a lot of uninsurable items. In the end, we’re probably up to about 400-to-500 thousand dollars from a municipal standpoint out of pocket.”

Construction crews are rebuilding homes, and the trees that once towered over homes still show the scars of the storm, but Barton says it will take time for the community to heal.

“It’s been a lot of work, we had a lot of people displaced, but things are going in the right direction now. We are open for business,”

“It’s nice to see everyday a little bit more work being done, a little tree being planted, and little by little things are getting back to normal.”