Central Alberta family farm destroyed in Rocky Mountain House tornado

Cleanup at Bryn Hansen's Rocky Mountain House farm is expected to take months after a tornado swept through over the weekend. Amanda Anderson reports.

A central Alberta family is picking up the pieces after a tornado tore through their property over the weekend, damaging and destroying several buildings.

Bryn Hansen showed CTV News Edmonton the storm damage on Monday.

“Just all of a sudden you could hear a whirring sound, and then ‘bang!’ That’s when we just ran for the basement and about 30 seconds later, it was over,” recalled Hansen.

The tornado touched down in Rocky Mountain House on Saturday evening.

“It was crazy.”

Hansen and his family weren’t hurt, but couldn’t venture outside because a power pole had fallen outside of the home.

Four vehicles and several buildings were damaged, some beyond repair. Their workshop was ripped clear off its foundation.

“We’re just thankful it didn’t hit the house … We still have somewhere to live,” said Hansen.

On the street leading to their family farm, crews are working to clear downed trees.

“It’s amazing how much power a tornado has and how lucky the town is that it only hit a very small segment of our town,” said Rocky Mountain House chief administrative officer Dean Krause.

Several people caught the tornado on camera.

“It was really scary for me just to see it through my own eyes,” said Milley Toledo.

The Northern Tornadoes Project says this is the worst tornado season in Alberta in about a decade.

“From 2017 onwards, we’ve never had more than 23 tornadoes in Alberta until this year, and we have 26 … There’s still around a month of peak tornado season for Canada left,” said survey lead Matthew Woodward.

Cleanup alone on the Hansen farm is expected to take a few weeks, even with dozens of family and community members helping.

But since Hansen’s grandparents didn’t have insurance, they’re hoping to raise money to rebuild and make repairs through a GoFundMe.

“Community has been a lot of help … it’s been a hard time, so happy to have all the help,” said Hansen.

The Northern Tornadoes Project still has a team on the ground surveying damage. They are looking at an area from southwest Rocky Mountain House to north of Coffer. More information about the tornado path, its width and rating are expected Tuesday.

Rocky Mountain House is about 160 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.