By Nia Williams

A tornado touched down in a suburb of the Canadian capital Ottawa on Thursday, damaging an estimated 125 homes and leaving another 1600 without power but resulting in only one minor injury, emergency services said.

The tornado hit Barrhaven, 17 kilometres southwest of the city centre, around 1245 p.m. ET (1645 GMT), roughly the same time Environment Canada forecasters issued a weather warning for the region.

Damage included shingles ripped off roofs, broken windows and felled trees, Kim Ayotte, Ottawa's general manager of emergency and protective service told a news conference.

There is no cost estimate for the damages yet.

"At this time there's been only one person who suffered minor injuries during this event," said acting Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell, adding officers were going door-to-door to check on residents.

(Reporting by Nia Williams; editing by Diane Craft)