Church levelled & house destroyed as tornado causes extensive damage in village
Striking at 4:10pm, the tornado caused extensive damage in the small village of Komoka, to the west of London. The solidly built Komoka Community Church was levelled to the ground, however its minister escaped what would have surely been serious injury or death, having left the building minutes before it was swept away. The church organ was smashed and debris that included bibles and collection cans was tossed through area fields. Pieces of the building’s roof were scattered over a kilometre away. Across the street, a house was also destroyed, its roof torn off, and walls pock-marked by debris. Throughout the community, trees were snapped and uprooted and barns damaged and destroyed.
Originally classified as an F2 tornado, this tornado was reassessed in 2019 and upgraded to F3. The change was made based on new information unearthed by researcher Kyle Robertson for Highways & Hailstones.
This was one of three tornadoes to touch down in Southern Ontario on August 28; the others were a devastating F3 at Frome and Port Stanley, and an F1 at Newtonville.
