Late on Saturday evening Didsbury RCMP confirmed that there were injuries and property damage.

According to police, 14 houses were affected by the tornado. Five houses were completely destroyed.

"Carstairs and Didsbury Fire were deployed to the scene as well as RCMP. One woman was trapped in her basement as her home was destroyed above her, but thankfully Carstairs Fire Department pulled her from the rubble and she only suffered minor injuries. No other people have been injured," police stated. "25 cows and 20 chickens are deceased and one horse needed to be put down."

According to previous reports from police, Mounties had received multiple reports of a large tornado in Mountain View County, near Highway 2, ranging from one to two kilometres wide. 

Social media was flooded with residents from Crossfield, Carstairs, and Didsbury posting photos and videos of the tornado. 

@yegwaveig A violent tornado just hit homes southeast of Didsbury. The tornado is 1-2km wide and is moving at 40km/h, according to The Weather Network 😳 Houses have been damaged and injuries have been reported. (🎥: Aaron Jayjack/ aaronjayjack/t) #alberta #tornado #calgary #edmonton ♬ original sound - YEGWAVE🏆

While Environment and Climate Change Canada had issued a tornado warning just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, encompassing the areas of Mountain View County near Olds and Didsbury, as well as near Carstairs and Stirlingville, at 2:45 p.m., the warning was downgraded to a tornado advisory. The advisory is still in effect for Mountain View County, Didsbury, Olds, and Carstairs.

According to Fortis Alberta, there are power outages in Mountain View County.

And according to Mountain View County's social media, there are road closures in effect. At approximately 3:42 p.m. the town stated that Highway 2A was closed between the Town of Carstairs and Westcott Road to allow for Emergency Service response and cleanup efforts. A little after 4 p.m. the County stated that a road closure was still in effect.

The Town of Carstairs is also advising residents that there are water restrictions in place.

 

 

Airdrie currently does not have a tornado warning or advisory in place. 

This is a developing story and more information will be published when available.

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