. W7 x j5 w0 S9 o& F- n" Tsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado3 Y# K' w1 I( i$ B) t
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 8 r Z5 |7 D1 o ) z8 A4 [+ G& T/ |. J / \+ h* ]8 Y3 {4 U" r***********************************************************6 x" W# D; Y7 z3 d6 T1 g; w Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 9 ~! c# L9 c3 [+ n- u; D+ x9 l
by: PAUL CHOI / Q& {3 H# ]$ `' P2 }1 G
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ) C2 Q' x; r+ }5 ^+ c# ^' O! t* L6 B $ p: R9 _, T. r: M# w+ O 0 a. C7 U. t7 R& T0 d& c. _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.& m# d- f, x( M+ F6 M2 j9 ?6 E% k
$ {6 Z* ~* z4 v3 p3 }6 g+ kThe 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.' x2 t8 W# e. O6 `! d0 z. g
; `' W, r- _' P* X4 |% C) k! u3 f; qIt 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.* D* m' J; J3 I7 ^# Z2 K, A e
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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." - y2 `1 a7 R$ X$ t ( J _% c3 f' j$ P1 P; U CA 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 C- t; ~- e1 f8 A" y( c3 l5 i 6 w7 y& D" S2 Z3 o1 oElsewhere 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. " Y) d5 F4 v# u' ]' K : c. s% M! H. ]2 m5 X) I5 D. |7 l; Q"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 J+ g" k# g- d$ @2 J
4 V; p1 a1 ]* Y/ |8 e- [On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.7 \, a8 K# ~5 Z R3 P4 N( r
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. / f q y0 S" L$ A" o0 e$ U( M8 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."! v7 l: G: G; p1 q, E1 Y# S# S
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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.5 l# j7 V: a6 B" N. x
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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. / _. K! J/ b# s& ~4 A+ { % n3 a' B- D; R3 G"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 6 } V1 S2 ~3 m( f. H( ] * D% @: D/ r# \! wOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 2 X- W. u6 Y! g) `' m8 } ( r( s) p5 Y2 j5 [) k( BAided 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.3 M8 W; K" n( \; Y
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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. ! a8 J$ r3 I4 j# A4 ^4 I . k% k0 o# |" K. f% D3 J6 D( {"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./ E$ X, U# K* p! n) w
5 l& y1 L" B F( `4 GDue 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. ) w$ y& ]0 p- R) e8 B9 E , m" M. W5 e" {+ m- i5 E$ Y: rThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ^/ E+ }5 t9 e; F
% z8 |: c6 ]: t& s# g; dMeanwhile 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. * e/ U# f2 g+ D* R
- F. q4 c3 h7 y) bDuring 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. : j- u( F( h$ v
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 3 g* d8 \6 F) c& ^" i! l( ?+ j
3 f3 z1 |; }5 v9 r"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. ! T) m: k" A2 i3 Y i6 q
# d2 U) T3 z S6 x) a' D2 A"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.: A$ P# a; o% {
0 V9 R+ ?" Q- a, @3 j" B********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM