Rita Tessier spent Sunday evening in her basement, nervously waiting for the dark clouds above her home to pass.

“The power went off and the whole house shook, and we didn’t really know what happened. It lasted two to three minutes, that’s all,” Tessier, who has lived in her Eston, Sask. home for 27 years, told CTV News.

Hail, rain and severe winds damaged Eston’s rec centre, many vehicles and homes on Sunday evening – including the siding on Tessier’s home.

“We just put that siding up. I looked to my neighbour’s house and the roof was completely off, so we’re really lucky ours is still standing,” she said.

Pieces of insulation, ripped from the walls of homes, littered the west end of Eston.

Environment Canada said plough winds from the west side of the province were the driving force behind the damage in Eston. A meteorologist was in the town on Monday collecting photos from witnesses to learn more about the storm.

Sunday evening Tessier and her neighbour were evacuated from their homes and the Town of Eston activated an emergency plan – using the local church as a place for people to take refuge.

Since, the town has received several calls from nearby residents wanting to aid Eston.

“I’ve had 50 calls from neighbouring communities saying. ‘What can we do?’ We’re a community, where we all rely on each other all the time,” said Al Heron, the mayor of Eston.

Tessier is also looking on the bright side – thankful her tomato and strawberry plants were sheltered from the storm.

Eston homeowners are expected to continue cleaning up debris and making insurance claims this week.

SaskPower crews are on scene working on restoring power. The town estimates Eston’s power should be fully restored by Tuesday afternoon.