9 | Z1 t& I; D/ g7 sthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.* W5 x4 r9 ^3 F6 p
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*********************************************************** / v* |; F6 D8 b+ b1 w7 X6 \" p- UResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 4 } w) L' T! Q) |4 x1 p* \& _by: PAUL CHOI 9 W( A$ w$ c# ]9 l; _ w
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET( ~( ^1 e. G$ T( p% _
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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. ; Y. m; `5 F4 i% G0 G2 |7 ~3 s+ m$ R: {- u0 j# S
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." _# C; H5 H1 {% {2 z, N2 d; }
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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.9 o& M8 M2 \ \
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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." 0 y, ~0 M. r% h# ]/ S8 w6 }( X. H s" j& f+ ~% s, K' V/ s! C* i' V- Z+ X
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. ) b7 v) d* U0 B! l! _2 ~) }; m! S " S( u# U- S8 @. U2 eElsewhere 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.0 D- G! _5 d: ~
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"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."6 c" P9 x! R/ ~% p% U
! \% g/ |7 c. Z( ^On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. ! s4 c$ y7 n! j# ]9 C% ~# ~* P7 {$ \6 `5 i3 M5 E0 A( V+ A
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. - T8 R8 P7 r7 k6 F2 A$ x4 s6 g# C+ ?5 u9 | Y: m) E+ d4 y$ E8 I
"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."' D% v# r; ^ ]1 {) y
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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., K+ k) m0 M( g& e% v$ f
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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. ! T8 p4 c( P4 \% R; N/ f' |8 M: ]% S/ }9 o4 B2 L- c! [
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"1 ?! l- m+ N- F s5 o5 Y/ t
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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.: E' r& c3 Z; t4 N( c
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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. 6 ]+ R) H2 m. y# Z ( s$ Z4 B# B) y" VCoulson 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.$ e: g+ c9 U. u6 l: E
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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. 2 w4 ?7 X( `- b& c/ t6 W; o. q; `. k9 M. ?/ O
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. 4 W" E( c; s2 r e, f. j
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. - `* A7 }, ?* D* R
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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. * S2 ]! m0 J; y6 ?5 {
* k0 Z. }% m+ \; v2 X6 C/ w- c* zDuring 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. . N3 A. h) k+ _- T6 ? 4 @- F5 A4 r0 m) vBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 V& g- j. R: S' m2 y/ |# X" x9 q3 D% i. U5 @9 c9 x
"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, l0 m- U: X4 T# B" T
; F6 s) F. |4 m6 J) r, B"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.# f) h5 S) G1 m0 Z" I" E