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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 5 m7 T/ A( W7 q- B9 q" w# ~ 3 `% @" R4 D" I5 f L5 D. {8 \5 d4 G# ]8 L3 p4 B* N# Z3 y* R
*********************************************************** & z* g' |3 \! [0 L, FResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ( x3 b7 o! J5 H3 @" o: J6 j6 Wby: PAUL CHOI % p* z9 f9 h# h6 HSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 5 d0 s" {; Q+ g8 w - j; ~; K8 x, Y" t& W 3 @9 q1 B9 X9 o' OTORONTO (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.3 ?/ W @1 l- O0 Q
e+ o6 G) m$ t2 h- B3 }0 S) d2 DThe 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." I, F1 I% u( R+ ~. v5 ^% W
4 P1 d, E! {6 ]2 I. Q8 t6 @9 b7 YIt 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.& J& J! {+ \! j" `
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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."1 {- ]0 b( [5 n% G; C3 U
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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.$ o% A4 r& f3 s5 p7 {* I
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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. ( L# c; [6 [/ n, x6 e ! M; d& p' v6 \0 P; |9 A) F"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." ) t& h1 n, |0 r7 n' s# @4 E, j! h: I* a: [
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.8 l* ^1 {2 L0 m5 P! a7 j
4 d! V7 [+ w) [1 V1 e' bAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 3 S2 ]1 Y# C3 z" S2 ?" Y" G% X; c: H9 f; Q) ] Y, H8 W
"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." , m; G# W; \2 ~* f& a P+ {5 Y5 a2 c% J
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. ] ~ P8 X9 R 2 z w* h, v8 p, M) wThey 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. 3 ^- q1 `: ?7 r3 I " W. [* R, l. L, r9 f$ `6 J* k/ z"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"/ y c" f; `6 `
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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.% ?0 Q; Y& U7 {- C+ Q. @( j, e' h
; N0 O9 ~7 b% |. ]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. ]% \, L( l0 }2 S* H9 T% W: F! i! a. ?
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. # q% T) A5 |! N5 _ h9 q! N8 T% D" d3 F
"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.6 k2 h. a' S! ~: ^, i
! I* ]7 ^* L( G2 Q% T% |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. & ^% {; A8 M7 {' N4 {( J
7 J6 p$ Z! ]& C3 c1 d( fThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ' _' b# J. O; G! `7 O" z
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Meanwhile 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. 7 h" F* A: o4 B6 l
W4 j# }' S: @8 \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. 4 C/ w# @2 \3 m. G7 E9 z# m4 K+ m0 T3 B" J0 P( W9 b( W- L J
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. & \3 _! ]0 J6 E$ s3 C7 j
& f# C% s- v$ a- [- F# F3 }# _9 z"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. 4 M, V4 _3 R% U, V# |4 l4 i& _
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"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. 8 D4 I# Y% O6 o5 Z/ W" J7 [; {! U+ Y% L7 a
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM