Wall of ice destroys Manitoba homes, cottages
Area officials told CBC News the wind pushed built-up ice off Dauphin Lake on Friday evening and caused it to pile up in the community, located on the lake’s southern shore.
The piles of ice, which were more than nine metres tall in some cases, destroyed at least six homes and cottages, according to the Rural Municipality of Ochre River.
Another 14 homes suffered extensive damage, with some structures knocked off their foundations.
Clayton Watts, Ochre River’s deputy reeve, said it’s a miracle no one was hurt.
He told CBC News one minute people were watching hockey in their living rooms, the next they heard something that sounded like a freight train near their homes.
“It happened so quick,” said Watts. “And you can’t predict it — not like water that slowly comes up.”
Watts said there are several cabins that were completely flattened by the wall of ice that came at them.
“The ice is over top of them, they’ve been crushed, there’s nothing left,” he said.
“There are other cabins that have been knocked right off their footings,” he continued. “There’s ice right over top of some of the cabins, coming over the roof on the other side.”
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Ice wall damage leaves Manitoba community devastated
A massive cleanup effort is underway in Ochre Beach after a wave of lake ice swept up by strong winds destroyed or seriously damaged 27 homes in the community on Friday night.
Winds gusting at 80 km/h pushed ice off Dauphin Lake and caused it to pile up along the lake’s southern shore where the community is located.
A local state of emergency was declared in the Rural Municipality of Ochre Beach after the piles of ice, which in some cases were more than nine metres high, destroyed 13 homes and cottages and severely damaged 14 others.
Several homes were completely crushed, others knocked right off their foundations.
Many devastated homeowners are still in disbelief about what happened.
Myles Haverluck was outside barbecuing when he noticed something was wrong. He said he could hear a big roar as he saw the wave of ice coming.
“By the time we went around the front the cabin, next door was moving 10 feet off its foundation,” he told CBC News.
“Then we heard these cracks, and we went inside the house and the ice had come through the windows of the kitchen and living room” Haverluck continued.
Andrew Barnet was also working outside when the wind storm came towards the lakeshore homes.
“Looked out and the ice started coming out over the house and the ice started shifting,” Barnet told CBC News.
Related articles
- Massive wall of ice destroys Canadian lakeside homes (sott.net)
- Wave of ice destroys Manitoba homes, cottages (vineoflife.net)
- Wall of ice smashes lakeside homes near Dauphin (globalnews.ca)
- Ice wall tears Manitoba homes and cottages apart (o.canada.com)
- Ice destroys 6 homes, damages 14 others in Ochre Beach, Canada (upi.com)
- Wall of ice on Manitoba lake demolishes summer homes as residents flee (macleans.ca)
- ‘Like a freight train’: Manitoba homes crushed as nine-metre-high wall of ice slams into them (news.nationalpost.com)
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