6 homes in RM of Cana 'seriously' damaged by tornado

A short, but violent stormwhich dropped two tornadoescaused millions of dollars worth of crop and property damage in the RM of Cana according toreeve Robert Almasi.

"It's really amazing to see how Mother Nature can change your life in just a split second," Almasi said.

He confirmedat least six homes were badly damaged when a tornado touched down north of Melville, Sask. around 4:30 Sunday afternoon.

One of those homes, owned by Tom and Jamie Simpson was completely blown apart.

It's like the house exploded.- Jamie Simpson

"It's like the house exploded," said Jamie Simpson. All of the family'sbelongings were left scattered across the farmyard.

When the storm hit, Simpson says the family rushed to her parents' house, about 100 metres away.

The four adults along with Jamie and Tom's two children took cover in the bathtub waiting for the storm to pass.

"It was just loud," she said. "The house would shake every now and then and you could just hear wind and rain hitting the windows."

Almasi, who lives just a few kilometres from the Simpson farm, says the tornado landed on the outskirts of his property.

"It's totally taken out fencelines and trees. We had a couple vacant yards with giant spruce trees that are totally gone," he says. "They were twisted off and just shrapnel left."

Now, crews are working to clear the fallen trees blockingoff several roads in the area.

"Our main objective is to get roads open and have an access for people either in or out," Almasi said.But he acknowledges that fallen trees are just small damages compared to what families like the Simpsons are dealing with.

"Everything we worked for is kind of gone in the blink of an eye, and you just have to pick up and keep on trucking," said Jamie Simpson.

Reeve Almasi declared a state of emergency following the storm.

He says the RM is waitingto see what kind of reliefthe Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) will provide.But he says insurance claims will stretch into the millions of dollars, based on the damage to homes and yards that he's surveyed.