Aug 20, 2009 - 11:11 PM

Comments (2)

DURHAM REGION -- A fierce storm that swept through Durham Region Thursday night leaving power outages in its wake also spawned a tornado in Vaughan, northwest of Toronto, which prompted the city to declare a state of emergency.

No injuries were reported in Vaughan but scores of homes were reportedly ordered evacuated after being damaged by the storm.

The power outages in Durham Region affected both Hydro One and Veridian customers.

Hydro One said almost 24,000 of its customers were in the dark.  Blackstock, Brock, Cartwright Prince Albert and Scugog Island, as well as some areas of Courtice and other parts of Clarington, were affected shortly after 7:30 p.m.

By early Friday morning only 300 were still without power.

And Veridian, which serves Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Port Perry, and parts of Ajax and Pickering said power was also out for 25,000 of its customers.

The tally also included some Veridian customers in Gravenhurst.

The company had not provided an up-to-date summary by 5:30 a.m. Friday.

Eleven members of the troupe were rehearsing Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Town Hall 1873.

"Yes, the show must go on," Christy Chase said after the rehearsal.

In vaughan the video was captured on video and posted to www.youtube.com.

Traffic coming off Hwy. 401 at Salem Road shortly after 10 p.m. pulled up to a darkened intersection with both traffic lights and street lights knocked out by the storm.

The fierce wind, rain and lightning storm passed through the area around 8 p.m. lighting up the evening sky. Dark clouds and high winds soon made way for a brilliant orange sky as the storm moved away from the lakeshore and Environment Canada ended the tornado warnings in Durham Region at 8:59 p.m.

The OPP have confirmed at least one fatality after strong winds and a possible tornado tore through the town of Durham, 50 km south of Owen Sound, about 4 p.m.

Email your storm photos to newsroom@durhamregion.com