On the same date, it has been reported that an F2 tornado, with winds of 181-252 km/h blasted through Fisherman’s Cove Resort on the tip of Lac Seul, 200 km NE of Kenora, just after 8:30 pm. The resort is very popular with people from USA, who are attracted by excellent fishing and form over 90% of guests. The torando had lifted several cabins off the ground and tossed one into the lake. The 3 people inside, from Ponca City, Oklahoma, died. CBC reported:
Environment Canada said it issued warnings hours before the tornado hit, but those who witnessed it firsthand said they didn't expect a funnel cloud, a rarity in the region.
Kyle Kurchheidt of Wisconsin was in another cabin that was hit by the tornado, but somehow he escaped with minor injuries.
"I tried to hold on and closed my eyes and hoped I didn't get hit by something," he said.
Cody Kahoot said he was driving to Ear Falls from Dryden when he saw a large amount of debris on the highway. He said he turned into the camp to see what was happening.
"One end of the camp got hit. There's three cabins and two of them were pretty much in the lake. It just looked like a little path went right through," he said.
"There was a fridge sitting in a boat out in the lake and the whole dock had been moved."
What most fishing tourists don’t seem to know is that the fish in the Great Lakes is laden with chemicals. Although previous studies seem to indicate that salmon has the lowest concentration of mercury, this seems to no longer be the case. Environmental Defence released their report also on Friday:
The report, Up to the Gills: 2009 Update on Pollution in Great Lakes Fish, analyzes the latest fish advisories published by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for eight species of fish in 13 locations across the Great Lakes. Many categories of fish were found to be somewhat or completely unfit for human consumption. The report also looks at fish advisories over a period of time (2005 to 2009), and finds the situation is not improving.
The major chemical contaminants that cause consumption advisories for Great Lakes fish include mercury, PCBs, pesticides, dioxins and furans. Health effects of these chemicals include damage to the nervous, respiratory and immune system, as well as cancer.
While some lakes showed some improvements since 2005, such as Lake Huron, many areas remain very polluted. In Lake Ontario for example, 40% of the advisories examined in this report stated that it was unsafe to eat the affected fish in any quantity. Larger fish typically receive more severe advisories because they are generally older and have accumulated more toxins in their tissue but in Lake Ontario, even small sizes of fish are receiving the most severe advisories.
Almost 400,000 Canadian anglers fish the Great Lakes every year. The commercial and sport fishing industries are estimated to be worth $2.45 billion a year. While the report highlights the benefits of fish in a healthy balanced diet, it does caution consumers to watch what kinds of fish they eat and from where.
The governments of Canada and the United States recently announced that they will update the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the bi-national agreement in place to protect and restore the Great Lakes. First signed in 1972, the agreement has not been revised since 1978.
It is unknown if those who endured and survived the tornado exclaimed, as their cabins were lifted off the ground, gosh darn! we’re not in Kansas anymore!
Sources / More info: cbc-tornado, cbc-slain-teacher, g&m-pcb, env-def-great-lakes, yt
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