Monday, July 13, 2009

Mississauga Storm Damage Cawthra Road

While Port Credit along Lakeshore Road seems to have escaped the wrath of Saturday's storm (see post July 11), the Cawthra Road neighbourhood south of the QEW - South Service Road has been hit very hard indeed. (See Toronto Star story). The last I heard, full hydro service will not be restored for several days.

With Cawthra Road still closed to traffic, my neighbour John walked over there this afternoon to have a look for himself. He took these pictures and gave me permission to post them here.

Crews Working to Clear Fallen Power Lines

High Winds Shredded Utility Pole

I cannot imagine the burst of wind strong enough to shred this utility pole into toothpicks.


Wide Angle Shot of Downed Tree on Cawthra Road

Lucky home owner: Had this tree fallen the opposite direction, it would have been a direct hit, from the look of it. Didn't do the vehicle much good, though.

Close Up Picture of Downed Tree

The tree stump is across the sidewalk; the rest of it lies several feet away. This tree did not just fall over, it seems to have been launched like a sabre.

Tree Down on Cawthra near South Service Road

A number of city buildings -- the Mississauga Seniors Centre, Cawthra Community Centre, Cawthra Estate -- and Cawthra Secondary School are within a few blocks of this location. My mom would normally be busing down to the Mississauga Seniors Centre each day; as it happens, she is in Kamloops for a few weeks.

Another Downed Tree on Cawthra

With such graphic evidence of the force of the damaging storm winds, you have to wonder about property damage. As yet, I haven't seen any news reports of how the residents are coping, and how extensive other damages are.

Neighbour John says Cawthra is closed from Third Street to South Service, which parallels the QEW. When I drove on the QEW past the Cawthra overpass, I could see traffic still using the South Service exits, and crossing Cawthra to go to Dixie or Hurontario.

Here's a googlemap of the area:



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Anyone with more information about storm damage to this part of Mississauga, please leave a comment.