Tornado batters area near Canadian capital of Ottawa

A POWERFUL tornado struck Canada’s capital region of Ottawa ripping apart dozens of homes and throwing cars into the air in scenes compared to a Hollywood movie.

MORE than 200,000 people in Canada’s capital region of Ottawa were without power on Saturday and two people were critically injured after a powerful tornado ripped apart dozens of homes and threw cars into the air.

After visiting the hard-hit Dunrobin area, in the city’s west, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson likened it to an aerial bombing, adding that Friday’s tornado was among “the top two or three traumatic events that have affected our city” in history.

Terrifying Sight 👀
A #tornado swept through Gatineau, Quebec in #Canada Friday evening, September 21. The tornado caused significant damage, overturning several cars and and causing transforms to blow. #SevereWeather pic.twitter.com/T8BjllvthP

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) September 22, 2018

People walk past debris in a Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Picture: Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press via AP

Destroyed buildings and cars are seen in Mont-Bleu, Gatineau, Quebec, close to Ottawa. Picture: Vincent-Carl Leriche/AFP

“I’ve experienced nothing like this in all my life living in Ottawa.”

Video posted online shows the powerful winds shatter a driver’s window as the tornado touches down. He suffered minor injuries in the onslaught.

Terrifying moment when powerful winds shatter a driver's window as an EF-2 tornado touches down in Canada. The driver sustained minor injures from cuts to her face. https://t.co/KbMN6IP9AB pic.twitter.com/uXonfKRBnF

— ABC News (@ABC) September 22, 2018

Gatineau, in Quebec province just north of Ottawa, was also hit hard by the storm whose winds reached 200km per hour.

Around 30 people were hurt, with six taken to hospital and two in a critical condition as of Saturday, according to hospital authorities.

Destroyed buildings and cars are seen in Mont-Bleu, Gatineau, Quebec, close to Ottawa after a tornado shattered Canada's capital. Picture: Vincent-Carl Leriche/AFP

The storm also downed dozens of electric lines throughout the region, as Mayor Watson predicted it may take several days for power to return to everyone affected.

In the Mont-Bleu neighborhood of Gatineau, a resident filmed a video showing hundreds of pieces of debris swirling through the air between buildings.

This astonishing footage captures a sky filled with debris as a rare tornado hits Quebec, Canada - and then the eerie scene of destruction it left in its wake https://t.co/PQJu1upDqI pic.twitter.com/k8oxdbXyFv

— ITV News (@itvnews) September 22, 2018

“There was a power cut and less than a minute later, the wind began hitting windows,” Vincent-Carl Leriche told AFP.

Residents leave with some of their belongings from a Gatineau, Quebec, Canada neighbourhood. Picture: Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press via AP

A dormer that was torn from a home's roof by a tornado is seen in Dunrobin, Ontario, Canada west of Ottawa. Picture: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP

“The tornado itself lasted less than two minutes. The debris was flying everywhere, I have never seen anything like it, except in Hollywood,” he added.

Central Canada generally sees dozens of tornadoes a year, mainly in June or July, but rarely of such intensity.