Extreme Weather: Ice Tsunami Destroys Lakefront Homes in Canada and Minnesota

Ice Tsunamis Damage Lakefront Homes in Minn., Canada

May 13, 2013

ABC News Blogs - Massive sheets of moving ice have damaged or destroyed lakefront homes in Canada and northern Minnesota. No injuries were reported.

In Minnesota, video of the weather phenomenon shows an enormous sheet of ice that appears to be creeping forward, traveling about 15 feet to invade some multi-story homes at Izatys Resort, the community bordering Mille Lacs.

The ice is seen pushing up against some homes.

WATCH: Moving Ice Engulfs Homes

National Weather Service Meteorologist Shawn Devinny said 30 to 40 mile an hour winds pushed the water into the ice, driving it ashore. He says the winds were lighter Sunday and the shoreline got a reprieve.

The Department of Natural Resources says about 10 miles of shoreline are covered, with some reaching up to 30 feet high.

On Friday, 12 homes and cottages in Ochre Beach, which lies along Dauphin Lake in Manitoba, were destroyed by a similar phenomenon, the Winnipeg Free Press reported. Fifteen other structures were damaged.

A state of emergency reportedly was declared in the community.

The creeping ice was several feet high, in many cases dwarfing some of the structures it affected.
The storm lasted about 15 minutes, Clayton Watts, the deputy reeve of the rural municipality of Ochre River, told the Free Press.

"They (homeowners) heard it before they saw it (the ice) coming up their decks," Watts told the newspaper. "Then it came right in their front windows. It was just a matter of minutes. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We were very lucky."

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