' g3 {* O/ q" K. i( X+ X1 _$ sthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 0 ~: J# ]. Z! [" B; _# n" s, @' d& ?5 g$ Z
6 e$ j+ M" w6 ~# o c& S# z( |*********************************************************** + [- m/ i0 a6 x; n1 c) i1 ]0 s, xResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 9 B. w" S k, C5 @5 M; c5 d5 A
by: PAUL CHOI 5 @; h- _! }$ r+ n* U
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET - q7 k6 A9 [6 K& U& y4 i4 y! g* L- @4 D3 x$ P2 D b" W8 s
/ k% ?$ O2 L5 v. m! O, G. zTORONTO (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 j+ m' g- c$ P; ]- i% Y9 M b. u" Q5 } T! t: u4 M$ c b+ 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. % z; a# e" o. b. H1 V4 m1 ~1 Y: I$ V8 X" K$ \
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. v2 F+ E0 e9 S+ |* H& g% } ( ^) I; e6 l" [# b"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." ( _ |" w! m: x4 J: \ $ L }6 m3 D3 f8 Q: n$ s) aA 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.8 O- P" W, x( C* [& f
* f- S7 L' [/ U( ?) n8 HElsewhere 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. & z; Z% \+ Z# L% i0 J$ b* u8 E5 m( e' }. I7 Y
"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." + }- K p5 H9 F+ m& a% z& \1 \( S" x
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. % x# l+ ^) z+ ~3 K* f . S/ u4 E; O- w2 JAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. $ F2 G% ]4 d3 d9 B % D( C9 v2 \6 ?, F"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.": U' ?8 e2 c9 K5 B; M9 D W: E/ \& a
1 F3 l4 d9 ^2 v# kFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. 4 d) I- `" v. E. \ 8 s! L8 m! E. XThey 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.* Y1 I$ L! D3 W1 g6 o# t
5 l- H- {/ c9 I3 h; I# b8 A"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"( E4 M3 ?( ^& |6 J' A0 R
5 B# r( j+ c# N% {- _Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.; J* T/ e' l5 ]: u3 I7 @
! l- t& z0 o# y/ c; L% p& VAided 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. 8 |0 ]8 o+ l8 j+ o$ ]( U! |- o. Z2 p, \! K. k7 w8 j. ? \
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.$ i$ D8 q4 ?7 m/ k$ t) ^- D
/ |9 P( i8 ^8 j2 ^ e s, 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.2 I% F6 e- f8 @) H% y, m1 q; s
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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. ) _/ ]" V" @: }+ b 0 l- ~& B A9 ]$ E' p$ ?1 V0 X/ aThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. + e. T" G5 B5 N( U5 |3 Z : q" J% c% g# k8 K. F# D0 HMeanwhile 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. : S0 _+ S4 z6 z' a) [0 b* V
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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. 2 B) f+ u# l' n3 q+ X
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. : V* C6 W- S5 C$ Y' O/ e2 a5 U. K+ U, o- v2 J
"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. 3 ]) Y( e$ \5 Z0 K
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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. C* |3 o' E. y& E5 U$ q
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM