Total desolation in the aftermath of the tornado that caused extensive damage in Très-Saint-Rédempteur and Rigaud. 

“It's a shock to see the total destruction of everything we've built over the past four years. It's our retirement home that we're working on. Everything I've built is gone,” laments Daniel Gélinas, owner of the residence at 1299 rue Principale in Très-Saint-Rédempteur.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., a tornado ripped through Mr. Gélinas' home, leaving him with only enough time to take refuge in the basement with his dog. “I heard the wind stronger than usual. I went outside to look and saw pieces of deck walking around in the yard. That's when I saw the whirlwind and thought it was more serious. I grabbed my dog and we rushed to the basement. It made a lot of noise. By the time I got up, it was over,” he confided to Néomédia.

On his way out, Mr. Gélinas saw the extent of the damage and realized that his roof had been ripped off. “I went back up to my office, where I'd been working just a few minutes before, and there was a lot of debris. The roof was gone and I could see out,” adds the owner.

The mayor of Très-Saint-Rédempteur, Julie Lemieux, was on site late Monday and again on Tuesday. “Many people mobilized to help the victims, and that's where we see the importance of our civil security agreement with the towns of Pincourt and Pointe-Fortune.As soon as the alert went out, our teams were ready to intervene,” she confided.

“The most incredible thing is really the solidarity of the local people. Our neighbors, our community, the mayor, everyone around came to us for help. We could have been housed in any house,” says the affected owner.

Despite everything, Mr. Gélinas is keeping his spirits high for the future.“We're going to clean up and rebuild.