Fallen trees, damaged homes in southwestern Ontario as Tornado researchers sent to the region / CBC Neambs

Fallen trees were littered with many streets, in some cases after they had fallen at home, in Essex County in southwestern Ontario. And thousands were without power Wednesday night as a result of a massive storm.

Investigators from the Northern tornado Project at Western University will send teams of researchers to the area on Thursday morning to determine if a tornado has occurred.

Fallen trees pulled up parts of the grass and pavement, including in Harroflix where a massive tree fell dangerously close to a house.

Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy says residents describe what appears to be two tornadoes touching down in the area. She says she was out with City and OPP crews assessing the damage from the storm, which she said is widespread in the southern half of the municipality.

“There was a lot of wind and a lot of people said it sounded like a windstorm,” Bondy said. “Me, all my garbage and recycling was shredded all over my lawn. My neighbor’s fence is down.”

She said she saw four houses with extensive damage.

“We literally have some houses that have trees right through them. The wires are down to Earth.”

Brooklyn Cooke’s home was one of the few with major damage in Harroflix. It is one of the oldest houses in the community, she said.

The tree passed through her sister’s room.

“It’s kind of scary to go in there because there are cracks going all over her room it looks like it could fall into the cave at any moment,” Cooke said.

“It was truly devastating.”

She said her stepfather was home and on time, and he is unharmed. The family is planning to live somewhere else.

“You don’t think it’s going to happen and then you get a call and it’s right through your house.”

Mark Isler saw a massive tree house on the street in Harroflix, knocking out the power.

“It was like being in a movie. It just fell in slow motion, ” Isler said. “It’s just chaos, everything is a mess.”

Bondy said she advises residents to” hunt ” and stay home.

“Suppose every wire is alive,” she said. “Stay away and clear, and stay home until we know everything is safe and restored.”

Bondy said she anticipates there will be additional collection for tree limbs

According to Essex Posiblerlines Corporation, more than 4,100 customers are without power in Leamington. Another minor blackout is reported in LaSalle.

Elk Poflix reports outages in Kingsville and Harropora, although the number of affected customers was not immediately available. The service said teams had been sent to social media for “extensive”damage.

“We are aware of significant damage to Harroanair and Kingsville and other parts of our service territory. Teams are on site assessing the damage,” the company said on Tantanitter. Power had been restored in some parts of North Kingsville, they reported.

“E. L. k. has provided additional resources to help restore crews will work throughout the night. No ETR at this time as the damage is so extensive.”

Hydro One reported dozens of outages in its service area in southwestern Ontario, involving about 1,600 people without power in Essex County. A spokesman said teams had been sent to assess the damage. While no restoration assessment was available, the service said the most current information is available through its online outage map.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), meanwhile, has issued a flood watch for the area.

That’s because of the rain late Wednesday afternoon, the authority said. The flood watch remains in effect until 10 a.m. on Thursday.