Week 1: Assessing the damage

The next couple of days were incredibly frustrating, as we were not able to gain access to the building site, due to the unsecure hydro lines. We knew all our machinery and supplies were sitting there, exposed to the wind and rain, and could do nothing about it. We were finally allowed back in on Saturday, two days after the tornado had come through.  Here are some images of what awaited our return.

The west side of the building as we approached from down the road.

The front of the building – both of our vehicles parked in front got badly damaged by falling roof debris.

Coming around the front - note the large cylindrical chunk of wood at the front which is what remained of the hydro pole at the front of our building.

The east side of the building looking to the rear of the shop and the remains of our spray booth and assembly area. 

The front bench area of the workshop. You can see work in progress such as a walnut tabletop and a cabinet that was just getting wrapped for shipping, as well as various routers and hand tools that survived the storm. 

Another view of the front of the shop and up to the office. The dark triangular space above the green door and under what remains of the wall, is where I lay down to protect myself from the storm. The wall fell down on top of me, but the cabinets on the right broke its fall. When I saw this again, it gave me shivers. I realize how lucky I am to still be standing!

A view to our back loading door and some of our machinery and wood supplies. You can see the damage to our neighbour’s roof in the distance. The corner of the building at the right of the picture is where our employee Mike crouched down when he saw the storm coming. Even though he said he could actually feel the walls lift up and down and saw the overhead door blow in, the corner remained strong and it was one of the safest places he could have been – another lucky choice!