1 R9 M, @; g( P+ Y" o0 Rhttp://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_flood_050819.jpg " [. v0 v( Z" w( K: y; t( f0 C u0 c6 Y' q. W2 p- N5 Z! W/ jsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado( x& O& ^- `4 c1 ^7 u* R& l, s' f
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, ) s w' ^; V M; f& ? + R* r7 Q9 a/ x/ l6 mthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. j! n9 g4 S* B( h' O$ s9 z) C% L6 k# D9 [* X. X
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***********************************************************6 B' e) a2 m7 I! r! Z Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 1 }2 y+ Y( |4 Z/ \+ Y0 ~1 ]# oby: PAUL CHOI . |3 L7 e# i2 V# z
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET [& b- o8 M! R& m 5 F0 m, c5 o/ Z+ v0 r A( Q ?5 ?2 T- Q* T2 S" O
TORONTO (CP) - Residents of southwestern Ontario were picking up the pieces Saturday, and in some cases waiting for the power to be turned on, after a tornado touched down during a stampede of fierce storms a day earlier./ v7 I6 U' }% Z9 W! [8 c* S% [
$ M* O$ W4 _: ~ ]The severe weather, which developed due to humid and unstable air, began in Milverton, Ont., Friday afternoon and quickly gained steam as it moved east towards Fergus, a community near Conestoga Lake.- v; {5 e5 H! Z
0 L7 R) ~ V2 r9 hIt was here, officials said, where the storm spawned a full-fledged twister close to 300 metres wide that chewed off tree limbs, downed power lines, tossed cars into ditches, and ripped into several homes and barns. " x3 ?7 M% \2 u' _) S " c. Q9 u( j1 a$ y# G"We've confirmed at this location a Fujita scale F2 tornado occurred, with winds between 180 to 240 kilometres an hour," said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson on Saturday. "That's confirmed with the damage that we've witnessed." : N+ }! j4 p1 H ? % x3 V6 e: Q) T* P7 d4 ^7 g: a, w1 WA two-storey home in the area had its roof torn clean off and a barn behind the home was levelled to its foundation, Coulson said, all damage consistent with a severe tornado.! _6 Z/ p$ k, Q2 s
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Elsewhere on a nearby highway, a wooden plank was driven into the windshield of a vehicle, another sign of extensive impact damage typically associated with a twister.$ u; c) k3 V( Y: w6 ^1 V8 y: t7 r
$ A5 J, I& W9 R+ J ]/ I3 u"A tell-tale sign it was tornadic as opposed to just strong winds was the fact there's (mud) splatter on more than one side of a house," he said. "If it had been one wind gust there would be one side with the splatter." ~5 N6 k' \7 K- J* a0 c) b
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand." r" c2 b2 o3 |% t/ z
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ; D2 c% c+ X5 q. `8 _+ S5 g6 V2 M! _) {" u2 R
"That's pretty amazing given the damage we're seeing here," Coulson said. "(Many) did exactly the right thing. They got into the basement and waited the storm out down there." " s2 v: z8 r* q/ z: Y / h& M) ~* c) K) w% ^Fergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. ; S- w$ a+ J" N, X. g! [: S% k) u, |) w1 C: m: J9 ]
They hunkered down in the furnace room and emerged to find the roof of their home had been partially ripped off and a wall was destroyed.+ y! t2 w/ l# S. u
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"; v+ t, H9 `( H" z! ` l
0 B/ S: I# ^3 O6 |: ?1 ?Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.3 Q6 f5 Y) \4 ?3 d
u, ^" L+ v& Q) F( {3 [: sAided by an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter, Environment Canada investigators conducted full aerial surveys of the Milverton area, where the storm began, and areas further east. : T* n# Y' v9 e6 j , t' v1 A2 z6 P% S& kCoulson said officials reported what appeared to be a one-kilometre wide swath of tree damage near Conestoga Lake. They were looking into whether it was the work of a twister.8 M6 o g( D# T! p
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"The big thing for us is going to be to try to link up these different reports to see if it was in fact one long-lived tornado on the ground or a series of tornadoes," he said." N0 Y+ N4 ]. Q! O$ _! P3 Y( k
5 Z# l& Y5 y9 j8 D- }& YDue to the storm, nearly 4,400 people were left without power in Fergus and its surrounding areas on Saturday, said Hydro One spokeswoman Kathleen Welsh. / H9 i' E6 y+ k* } b
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. $ L3 t. S$ x/ q7 u( k* E 5 i& W) F$ r0 tMeanwhile in Toronto, crews were cleaning up from the localized flash flooding that had paralyzed much of the city's main roadways and transit routes, drowning vehicles and leaving motorists knee-deep in water. In one extreme case, flood waters managed to wash away an entire section of road. 3 x2 c8 ?/ |; ]' Z- K* y
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During the height of the storm, around the time of the afternoon commute home, officials say the city received over 1,700 calls to emergency services. 3 c' [" |" e: `, X
0 Q3 U9 K3 |. N9 l* i. ABut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. " j9 w. e" v& M: w
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"The city's emergency services and the staff that manage our water, transportation, hydro and forests did a fantastic job of keeping the public safe and protecting the assets of the city," said Toronto Mayor David Miller in a statement. 6 _5 i4 r4 f+ H2 v8 s, w8 L+ _4 E/ `5 ~, C+ I
"Emergency services personnel were involved in a number of rescues, evacuations and emergency pumping operations and their work prevented serious injuries or death," he said. , H# k- _3 p- Y* ~. V) H1 h; J% }- l# d8 A% ^: z
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM