* j/ i7 ]$ j' m, B,3 B/ A- F/ W [0 Y9 P c& F8 F9 i: ^
. L) t5 S: t/ bthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.( ?" k' Z5 C/ {* T* W% e1 T
* I8 m _' ?6 j" y R
! S' m9 |8 i- E2 B
*********************************************************** ) V: F. G- v5 g z+ a- t' ^Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 1 f1 ^( A" Z5 `# D- K3 t! u8 C- \
by: PAUL CHOI 3 ] q+ {$ D( w7 K$ h' L8 XSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 5 L# Y7 m* B; g 5 e! I% |5 ~$ _5 q7 ? 0 R3 F. ]' P+ MTORONTO (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. & G2 j. t6 k7 {( O% e' z) | 9 l/ k8 B( I Y1 l' J/ ?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.1 Y! d( g5 g/ d$ j4 c; ?2 F- r5 ^/ c8 K
) ~+ Q- V7 |% w' r4 E$ M
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.) ]& a- J& j9 U0 A, B+ I6 E
P2 w+ c/ C$ E8 Q+ y"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." 9 \7 z! m/ d0 C! R( }9 C' y/ U$ t* K5 Y* @2 |* W
A 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. + a7 i) l* V9 Y7 H: a & T0 a* u0 F a* H- `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. + J: y! m, ]5 F- [1 q6 }' U' Z# @6 f6 f0 [! a8 b% q+ b
"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."* ?7 `4 N" O- K+ B2 K% @
# A) T- p5 m2 fOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. $ p+ F4 |8 z0 a$ V" W* ~& F4 |( A# Z$ u2 |8 ~4 i
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.( j; V1 T8 O! G/ @
+ V% X) U4 R5 i: b0 F' h8 Q1 u4 O
"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."; H4 s4 }* J& f# [0 Q* W
o6 _ C! r8 S& i7 DFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.% I% b T( w) m V8 c3 T5 t; B
% J3 L& J3 i: o% {& s. w; I4 W
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.$ X* V) R" R5 p2 |3 w' I" S* c# {2 H& n
5 i# ~$ [+ Z8 Z"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 6 K# G8 _' |* |6 r& f$ h( x! Q7 D& \* n
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.- F9 y' d7 q% K ^0 U4 R( a9 G7 G
) @2 q! L. p- z; OAided 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.4 a4 R& F7 Z6 Q% |$ |
6 x5 o+ J9 p* f5 z7 ~, U1 Y
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. 4 U" O! E6 n8 c9 H( n8 C / u2 U) D% F, G6 y"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. ) Z3 f, v9 F! ~ , E" J% B+ W/ l) s+ 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. % n/ n. z7 l' F) Y) v
5 r; B1 s) A Q: [6 i$ w6 Z) zThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. : F! n0 N4 s( p) `* L0 [% n. k h * p2 l0 P- z! a3 ~' L, 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. c- {& _: |9 n/ M3 t, e/ ]& `) `" A( K; p" U0 h
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 T# _ _- V; L+ ^; z
- d# r3 q0 _9 T7 x9 s& JBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 7 U) ]+ ~* {" O! {
, c# O8 z1 }4 Q"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. 0 ?0 v* W3 I! q / V6 i% U) A8 z1 g6 v"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. 2 X) T0 f7 K! ?; V/ f$ d' S5 c7 s. \. E. i+ B
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM