Cleanup underway in Quebec town after EF2 tornado left one man dead

A Quebec town just north of Montreal is cleaning up today after a tornado tore through the community Monday afternoon.

A man died after taking shelter in his shed in Mascouche, Que., while two other people were injured when the tornado touched down.

Environment Canada says a thunderstorm cell around 3:45 p.m. generated a tornado in a residential neighbourhood, causing injuries and destruction.

Meteorologists who surveyed the damage Monday evening say their preliminary findings suggest the tornado's maximum wind speeds clocked in between 180 kilometres per hour and 200 km/h, consistent with an EF2 tornado.

Mascouche Mayor Guillaume Tremblay said late Monday the city was caught off guard by the twister, but its emergency response plan was quickly put into action and worked well.

He said he began receiving calls about a tornado around the same time meteorologists spotted it.