‘Chaos’: Carstairs resident says tornado destroyed her brother’s home

Saturday afternoon was a terrifying time for residents of Carstairs, north of Calgary, as a tornado passed through the town.

The twister hit Carstairs and Didsbury, damaging homes and killing livestock.

RCMP say 14 houses were affected by the twister, including five that were fully destroyed. One of those was Darleen Bowen’s brother’s house.

BACKGROUND: 5 homes destroyed, livestock killed in ‘large tornado’ north of Calgary

“My sister-in-law saw the cloud and pulled over to her son and they just headed to the basement and then it just did its thing – chaos.

“She had very little time. In fact, I heard my nephew over there barely got to the basement in time.”

Devastation was evident in the area Sunday; only a couple of cars could be seen in front of the space where the house used to be.

Bowen’s sister-in-law needed to be rescued from the basement.

“She was trapped down there, she was able to text but her son came and cleared away the debris to be able to get her out,” said Bowen.

“There is nothing left of the house.”

Damage caused by the tornado near Carstairs, Alta., on July 1, 2023. (Brooklyn Clark/CityNews)

Environment Canada says the tornado was on the ground for at least 20 minutes.

“That’s a decent amount of time to be on the ground, it was quite photogenic, you could see it coming from quite a distance. And with it being on the ground for that long, I think it gave people, along with the tornado warning, enough time to get to safety,” said Jesse Wager, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

No other people have been reported injured. RMCP said 25 cows and 20 chickens were killed and one horse needed to be put down.

“Compared to other tornados you typically see around Canada, this is a more significant event, there is some significant structural damage that we have to sort through,” said Dr. Connell Miller, an engineering researcher with Northern Tornados Project.

Damage caused by the tornado near Carstairs, Alta., on July 1, 2023. (Brooklyn Clark/CityNews)

There was also significant hail associated with the storm; residents in Carstairs have reported hail damage to vehicles and properties.

Dean Allan, the deputy mayor of Carstairs, says the community is getting together to help with donations.

“This is devastating, it’s very surreal,” said Allan. “You can drive by here most days and you see the big trees and the farms and stuff, and now it’s destroyed, it’s amazing.”

Emergency responders were still in the area Sunday evening. Investigations will continue to determine the extent of the damage.

Damage caused by the tornado near Carstairs, Alta., on July 1, 2023. (Brooklyn Clark/CityNews)