Long road ahead for Barrie residents displaced by tornado

BARRIE, ONT. -

It's been a month since the EF2 tornado ripped through southeast Barrie.

Barrie resident Christian Anderson and his young family have been confined to their living room after their home was torn apart by the tornado that produced 200 kilometre winds.

"By day 13, we finally had someone come out to assess the damage," Anderson says. "It's now been a month, and I still haven't gotten a report what the damage is to the house, if it's safe."

He admits he's better off than most. The City of Barrie says 64 homes are unsafe to live in.

Residents displaced, telling CTV News they're staying in hotels or have found somewhere else to live.

"We've settled into a rental home, so we're hoping to be back here within a year, would be nice," says Jocelyne McFarquhar, a Barrie resident displaced from her home.

As restoration crews sift through the damage, some residents who are still in their homes say they're desperate for answers.

"Following the code as it is could've meant that the 20 homes that lost their roofs would've been intact," says Glenn McGillivray, managing director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction.

Fighting to ensure home builders install hurricane straps and other building code measures,McGillivray estimates the damage in Barrie will likely be more than the 2014 tornado in Angus, which saw about $35 million dollars in losses.

The city of Barrie says a total of about 110 homes have reported damage. With about a dozen permits issued for repairs to begin.

"Contractors are here, they're doing their job and homeowners I would say, under the circumstances, they're doing excellent," says Mike McCann, Barrie councillor.

Barrie resident Christian Anderson says his insurance company has had him twisting in the wind with his neighbours out of their home as he tries to get an engineer into his home to assess the damage.

"I want to see the insurance companies, all of them, step up for all of our neighbours. All of our neighbours are going through," Anderson says.