Cleanup continues after two tornadoes touch down in Ontario

The vicious storms that tore through parts of southern Ontario killing a young boy late Thursday and ripping the roofs off houses were in fact, tornadoes, Environment Canada confirmed Friday.

"There is no question that these were tornadoes," said Peter Kimball, an Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist.

Investigators have determined that an F2-strength tornado, with minimum wind gusts of 180 kilometres per hour, hit the Vaughan region north of Toronto Thursday afternoon. A second tornado touched down in Newmarket, about 40 kilometres north of Vaughan.

Kimball said investigators in the other areas affected by the severe weather - the Durham and Collingwood areas - have not been able to confirm the storms there were tornadoes.

Strong winds began to swirl at approximately 4 p.m., ET Thursday, toppling trees and power lines and ripping the roofs from homes.

The one confirmed death, an 11-year-old boy, happened at a campground in West Grey, Ont., about 180 kilometres northwest of Toronto. Emergency crews attempted to revive the boy but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The boy's name was not released at the request of his family.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty cancelled a trip to Cornwall, Ont., Friday morning, to view damaged homes in oodbridge.

It's very difficult to comprehend," he told eporters. "Homes on this side of the street are severely damaged, wile homes on the other side of the street are intact."

McGuinty said the province would financially assist tornado victims, but was not prepared to reveal any details of the plan.

"There will come a time when we have to sit down and assess and at what the financial aspects of this are," he said.

"I just want to assure folks in this community that they have our goodwill and if we're called upon to provide resources we won't hesitate to do so."

The premier said residents will be able to return to their homes once they are declared safe by building inspectors.

"I think right now what we want do is ensure that everybody is safe, that we get the power back on, that we get the gas lines running in a safe way, that folks have some place to stay," he said. "We're going to assess the homes, make a determination what can be rebuilt and what needs to be redone entirely."

DURHAM AND VAUGHAN STATES OF EMERGENCY

Officials in Durham and Vaughan have declared states of emergency, with Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson describing the damage there as "catastrophic."

"We haven't determined costs just yet. The cleanup effort is paramount for us," Jackson said at a news conference Friday, adding she has "never seen devastation like this."

In Vaughan, 600 homes had to be evacuated Thursday night. Jackson said 200 of those received "critical" damage and

likely will have to be demolished.

It's estimated about 2,500 people have been displaced.

In Whitby, a teenager was taken to hospital with second-degree burns to his hands and feet after a fire broke out in his home Friday morning. Investigators believe the boy was using candles during the power outage when the blaze began. Damage was

estimated at $400,000.

In Vaughan, a man whose home was destroyed in storm is in a coma after suffering a heart attack Friday morning.

As the storm struck, emergency crews got to damaged houses as quickly as possible, said Vaughan fire Chief Greg Senay.

"Within 15 minutes it was all hands on deck," he said. "It was challenging at best, to say the least. At one point last night, an emergency crew had to stand down and seek cover as a funnel cloud was spotted nearby."

Jackson said the Insurance Bureau of Canada was working with people affected to help them process their claims.

The Salvation Army is on-site in the city to provide assistance and the Ontario SPCA is caring for pets.

Meanwhile, Hydro One reported that some 63,000 homes were without power across the province at one point, but by Friday morning, that number had been reduced to approximately 21,000.

In Toronto, as many as 25,000 customers were left in the dark Thursday night, according to a spokeswoman Friday. By

mid-afternoon, at least 1,000 people were still without electricity.

"There was quite extensive damage to our grid," said Denise Attallah. "We had numerous crews work overnight and they

have been working really hard."

Most of those without power in the city were located in the northwest area of Toronto.

Toronto Mayor David Miller offered to help the City of Vaughan.

"I have spoken to Mayor Jackson and have offered Toronto's assistance to Vaughan should it be required," the mayor

said in a statement.