0 g. s; b" ^" _# q% Xthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 4 P% X- f% q) j2 V 6 T, [. @0 r6 s& S " x, L8 ~0 }+ W' N, T- c***********************************************************4 ~# K S4 h' c8 B/ q7 K* s. ^& m Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado * m O! h$ N4 q) Y2 `5 Nby: PAUL CHOI 4 H1 H0 a) v0 G+ | Y, a% A
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 1 y" Z) }" f; Y' S* j ) U9 H# g/ J1 _6 N1 b& H, P$ i' W, z4 t8 w
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. 1 t$ O! t/ Y6 c; q- s6 L 0 H, X0 O( a: D+ `$ PThe 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.' |3 k: N. W9 M7 W$ W* ^& Q
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It 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. O! R1 A, k1 ] A: }# Q
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"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." % L' g" P' j" p5 @( t, { + R3 ]2 y1 b+ B, T1 a) mA 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. 1 S, }! l% |' D2 A B. h* @1 Z: v% N% t6 M* J, m7 b
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. ; O- [" H, p5 }7 g3 C1 O& a5 j4 g2 N! S; ~# B! N: X. |
"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." 1 `5 p7 H+ b' n& T' [ . g3 X0 {- c' IOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.0 F1 x- m- Y- q" v; [$ J) f
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.7 j8 k/ L, _1 o
+ U' q* K+ q! F: a"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." + n+ i1 J* }1 K* f; z" B5 { ; l1 U# y# d/ YFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.$ V, J, D) l# B
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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./ o; I, M& J+ }4 b J( A; v
" N5 A' v% ?% d% }4 V2 O"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?". I# W9 O; Q5 A
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.9 @5 C9 }7 a4 ~! ], l
9 I |7 o& t$ o& Y- g5 _Aided 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. 7 T* P1 E. h- V3 g+ v2 q2 o: s9 g! M
Coulson 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." B _' L% P: T/ | h
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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. ( R1 C0 m0 E+ I' O/ B( ?8 F0 J. l# Z6 g( ^9 X* [# F
Due 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. ! @% K8 G" G! i4 ^6 ?
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 o/ a! I8 C) U4 j0 d) \ s6 m$ g$ ]
0 [* P& h+ q9 _- MMeanwhile 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. ( J6 N9 @4 n 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. / ~1 i. l$ w" R! e3 n$ F8 |* D
! e6 [! o `) ?! WBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 5 q+ x5 V+ L- B) V% \1 L ( d1 l b8 N. d' A: ^, s1 q% S0 |"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. 1 h2 D9 n& \ i, O9 x ( Z5 D! c, x& g6 y5 a% f; S"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. / l1 W) Q9 i4 T6 g& O* u7 E2 a+ ?2 b% z( g8 z+ t( y3 k ?
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM