LEAMINGTON, Ont. -- An F1 tornado touched down in Leamington early Sunday amidst a torrential flood that's drowned crops the Harrow area, damaged trees and left ditches overflowing across the southern reaches of the county.

"(Harrow) just looks like a massive lake when you drive down there," said Essex Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche, reached Sunday at the Red Bull Air Race.

He said Harrow, Colchester and Oxley were inundated by the storm.

"There's going to be a lot of corn crops that are going to have to be replanted."

Late Sunday afternoon Environment Canada confirmed that a tornado in the F1 range touched down in Leamington and travelled a distance of 300 to 400 metres. There was damage over an area of two kilometres, with the rest of the damage caused by downbursts, said Peter Kimbell of Environment Canada.

Near Kingsville, said county warden Nelson Santos, properties near the Albuna Townline were doused by a "one-two punch" of rain and suspected tornado activity. Cedar Beach was also flooded.

Though none were killed or injured, he said, trees in the area are "toppled, twisted and snapped off." Gas lines have broken in some places.

Kimbell said two tornado warnings were issued overnight. One was sent out at 11:15 a.m., but no tornado materialized. A second was issued at 2:37 a.m.

That second warning sparked off a major wind event he declined to identify as a tornado without further inspection.

A rain warning was also issued around 12:20 a.m.

That rain, said Essex Region Conservation Authority flood control co-ordinator Tim Byrne, came in a very short amount of time. He said many flood control systems around the county were old and not up to the task of handling snap rains.

"The rainfall we did receive did not warrant us issuing a flood advisory," he said.

Leamington has been under a state of emergency as of 6:25 a.m. Sunday. Decades-old trees were toppled, power lines were torn down and homes were destroyed.

No death or injuries have been reported, but strong winds caused severe structural and tree damage. Broken tree limbs are scattered throughout the affected areas, including Erie Street South from Seacliff Drive to the marina and smaller streets branching off.

Leamington's public works department called out most of its employees to deal with the wreckage. "We're just trying to clean the streets," said Allin Gelinau, who usually does garbage pickup for the town. "You come out here and it's like a war zone," he said. "This is the first time I've seen anything like it," he said.

There is also damage to the marina area, including Seacliff Park and docks that have shifted away from the pier. Falling trees and debris shattered the windows of vehicles and properties.

"I've lived here all my life and I haven't seen anything like this," said Leamington Deputy Mayor Robert Schmidt. "It's quite shocking."

Schmidt declared the state of emergency shortly after meeting with the town's emergency response team. Leamington Mayor John Adams is out of town and could not be reached for comment.