Tornado rips through northwestern Alberta village

A tornado struck the village of Girouxville in northwestern Alberta on Monday evening, tearing roofs from homes and uprooting trees across the community of 300 residents.

The funnel cloud approached around 8 p.m., bringing severe winds and torrential rain. Girouxville's foreman Ryley Mullen said he watched it swirl across the horizon while soccer practice was underway. "It [was] heading right towards us, like the funnel just kind of swirling around and went right overtop of us," Mullen said.

The damage path was narrow but devastating. Between 30 and 40 buildings sustained damage, with some properties losing roofs entirely while sheds were pulled from foundations and power poles toppled. Trees lay across the village, and some of the worst damage stood adjacent to relatively untouched buildings. "There's trees down and there's lots of buildings with their shingles and parts of roofs missing," Mullen said. "I've never seen it rain that hard in my life. It was incredible."

No injuries were reported. The Northern Tornadoes Project, a Western University monitoring initiative, confirmed at least one tornado occurred in the Peace River area and said a survey team will be deployed to investigate. Municipal and emergency crews are clearing debris while residents help repair their neighbors' homes.