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Jay Pugazhenthi
Deflated tents
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The Oakville Latino Festival was subject to a freak tornado on Saturday, Aug. 12. With no forecast warning, participants were caught entirely off-guard and did their best to hunker down.
Although it lasted just “about five minutes,” the storm, complete with hail, left people feeling like they “were going to die.”
One participant revealed that he “got a notification like five minutes before [around 7 p.m.] that it was going to rain.” Then it rained for a few minutes before stopping. “So, we thought, ‘okay, great,’ that’s it; we can continue. And then it just came down…like I’ve never seen before.”
Hailstones, “the size of big pebbles,” pelted the entire area.
“There were so many young kids and elderly folks with their walkers. It was so scary.”
Tents were ripped apart and thrown around.
Jay Pugazhenthi
Damaged tents
People scrambled around looking for shelter, and a few were able to get into a nearby restaurant. Upon seeing an increasing number of people trying to take shelter inside, it is alleged that the restaurant manager locked the doors.
Others sought refuge inside homes in the area.
Recovering and bouncing back the next day was out of the question. The festival had to be written off this year. “There was just no way we could come back. No way!”
Artisanal jewelry, merchandise, specialty clothing, accessories and more were no match for the herculean gusts of wind that evening. “The vendors - it was a total loss for them. They lost everything!”
According to David, one of the festival organizers, the cost of damage sustained to just the stage and audio equipment alone exceeds half a million dollars.
What made matters worse was electricity running through the entire area. A cook remarked, “If lightning struck, we would have all died.”
“I don’t know how we are still alive. I honestly don’t know how nothing bad happened to anybody. I’m not exaggerating; it was really crazy. It’s all true. I can’t explain how lucky we are.” - David
