Creeping Wall Of Ice Destroys Homes In Canada

A nine-metre high wall of creeping ice from a lake has destroyed 12 homes and damaged another 15 in Canada - as footage emerged of a similar, but less severe, event at a US home.

A state of emergency was declared in the community of Ochre Beach in Manitoba, Canada, after strong winds up to 55mph pushed massive ice floes from Dauphin Lake onto nearby properties.

No one was injured but homes near the beach were evacuated.

Doug David said he heard the ice coming and, within five minutes, a wall of ice rose from the lake so powerful that it ploughed though his two-storey home.

It pushed furniture from one bedroom into another, with the bath being moved into the hallway.

One official, Clayton Watts, told the Winnipeg Free Press: "The whole thing happened in about 10 minutes.

"We had people barbecuing on their decks. They turned around to go inside to get something, they came back out and their decks were ripping apart.

"It was like a freight train coming through, they say."

Residents and volunteers were allowed to return to the area and have been digging the ice from homes that were declared structurally stable.

In the US, people living around Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota watched in disbelief as ice crawled into doors and windows at Izatyz Resort.

Winds up to 40mph had pushed the wall of ice towards homes along the shore.

Darla Johnson, who filmed the event, told CBS: "You could hear it right through the doors, that's what alerted us to all of it.

"And we turned around and you could just see it. It's creepy because it starts coming towards you and you're like 'What is that!'"

Authorities have been using heavy equipment to move the ice.

The phenomenon follows several weeks of unusual weather conditions in the US, which have seen late snowfall and cold winds during an unusually late spring.