It has been a stressful week for a Nanaimo family whose home was destroyed by a toppled crane.

The heavy boom crane crashed on top of a condo building while Morgane Riddell, her husband and daughter were inside the home.

"It sounded like lightning was hitting our house and I actually thought it was an earthquake," Riddell told CTV News Vancouver Island. "My husband started yelling, 'We need to get out, we need to get out!'"

The crane was unloading a pallet of shingles onto the condominium roof with a fully extended arm when it came toppling down.

The impact of the crash caused a pipe to burst in Riddell's home.

"All of a sudden, there's water rushing everywhere. It's kind of this rusty, red water and it's just getting through everything," she said.

Her unit and another unit were flooded. Her family is currently searching for another place to rent before they're able to return.

She's been told it could take up to five months for the repair work to be complete.

"We want everything to be back to normal for all of us because we actually really love this home," Riddell said.

WorkSafe BC is investigating the incident.

With files from CTV News Vancouver Island