: W; H0 g/ K( jthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.1 x! H. z9 p8 L3 i; W
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6 ]. f: l& k% I* ]1 x" m*********************************************************** ( S; M, V% ~# P4 j& q/ ^Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 3 F3 G9 Q9 X3 [# \6 g/ Z
by: PAUL CHOI " U" ]# ]8 O1 a }
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET : o9 _, Z( E: t% }" l * W, R* [7 q) {' b; n " K$ U7 R+ U, z. g8 R- |: QTORONTO (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. + ?2 b% }& z) | t & h |9 {# ^4 E. T$ y- A4 T* v0 [% xThe 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. 2 z" `; W# X0 Z5 u4 G6 O 5 S; l4 g: I7 L3 ]3 P) gIt 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.: ?' i! V1 v8 D* n C4 V! d! S, e
$ S; ?9 j. n; @8 ^& w"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." , I7 R% ^: E+ Y6 g/ n, E- W& H- c( U; _' o" h9 ]! e
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.9 W' ^) G% }1 C& Y* ?- n r" V
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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.4 _6 C+ s( m! S3 \
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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." 8 s" F* k# l( w9 G1 o + \% f! j' Z/ s/ d& E A" VOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.. P9 e, z. m2 h
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.8 `# c# H; [) O# I
' D! j% N4 T# [( y" t1 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." 8 w/ I4 m ?( z7 W0 P. Y" G. G D T! w. M% m2 V4 V
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. " X/ _( H2 R% [; R. ? P1 O$ K9 z - L2 _4 @7 S6 }6 a# ]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.1 B1 w/ c' A/ `' p, x
$ C6 G* k! Q% _"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?": a+ i1 {3 M" S% a& ~; P
9 d0 H. I( c. O( v2 ?7 qOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 6 K" e" S! J1 @+ P/ i, A' K1 Z3 Z) x) B8 S* F* F
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. , s k- A; @# d4 { $ B1 K, S- a8 F& H9 H! @# _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. 9 L% U/ r; E* ]3 E* T9 C 9 A: ~) x" {0 F1 u"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. n6 s& R6 g- a/ { * f& @$ t+ n: PDue 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. & r3 [# x2 ]" H/ C" f3 O7 \% v( m/ K4 Q2 @
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 9 o$ `" F% G n9 {: s& e' o
6 \3 h: E4 b1 }1 Q& X+ [, cMeanwhile 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. # }0 ~" J# G# k: v $ v5 _& i! c, S" Q. j' \$ qDuring 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. ; k% P, V. ~2 Y2 n j( a+ F1 [6 Z
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 }$ q& {, i/ N0 @8 s
6 O7 G9 ^5 ~/ M" Y- V"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. 2 l5 W6 l1 v3 k, d ) l H- w% r @9 C; @# T"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 \" p7 Y! ]: I9 `: Z