The whole thing only took 15 minutes, but by the time it stopped over two-dozen homes and cottages were either seriously damaged or completely destroyed. An arctic wind blowing across Duphin Lake near Winnipeg, Manitoba, created this bizarre phenomenon in which rapidly forming ice moved inland along Ochre Beach.
According to Manitoba's Emergency Measures Organization, 12 permanent homes were completely crushed and destroyed by the ice floes. The walls of ice were pushed inward by winds gusting up to 37 mph (60 kph).
Images: Winnipeg Free Press/CKDM.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports:
Doug Davis had just taken a shower and was about to sit on his couch and relax at his home along Ochre Beach on Friday night.
Then he heard the ice coming.
"All of a sudden," said Davis's wife, Elaine, "that was it."
Within the next five minutes, a wall of ice rose from the lake, so powerful that it plowed though the Davis's two-storey home, pushing furniture from one bedroom into another. It pushed the bathroom tub and vanity into the hallway.
The Davis family weren't the only ones who had damage. In all, 27 homes and cottages were damaged or destroyed — but no injuries were reported.
A local state of emergency was declared in the municipality and residents along the beach were evacuated Friday night.
Residents could see and hear it coming, but could do nothing as the ice pierced through windows and doors.
Locas haven't had a lot of luck lately; many residents are still recovering from floods that struck the region in 2011.
A similar thing also happened in Minnesota this past weekend, though the damage was much lighter. Check out the video:
Images CTV.