1 U- I( W4 f$ U7 @1 d4 a) lthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 7 r3 L% U: L$ Y4 k/ o8 r5 o' b g1 k/ T6 v7 }, e: D
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***********************************************************. m9 a( f( x! Y1 g8 h Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 1 s# h1 D& t' U, L8 P8 o: Nby: PAUL CHOI * @$ c! l# `& L3 t& X4 D; Y4 F7 i) FSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET* H" F* Z* h5 M4 }0 S
# g; y, t9 s5 ^ M 9 w0 P5 n2 Z' U5 S; [+ ?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. ! T, c: C5 j: w- w- T - [* s1 c3 o* U' k* x! UThe 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. % B. K% u8 G2 m5 C 7 ?; o( f. W _: ]1 O- V" e9 aIt 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.! U% d% h1 T, f, O9 y
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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 U! O) G" n/ q- w0 Y! u0 v) p2 G9 N" g. g8 N0 B
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. / e y+ v! S0 U3 L, T k r# ? ) i2 v: d' _1 g) L5 i% V. [3 IElsewhere 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." B }/ e, d9 S9 c% d
; [" ~8 W( L# m7 Z7 X0 _"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."+ T8 e2 d3 }% ~1 `
2 r: {& t2 G+ B& R9 [/ KOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand." G+ @; j; n" w, p& p% I4 K* e& Z
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. % T) S y, | ^! R7 k& b( M4 ?5 m6 z; g( _ % I8 ~+ G0 y9 N' g! 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." z7 l- ?% z2 \
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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. ( f/ r1 Y, k1 m/ N4 s/ n! Y! i7 Z m1 k% Y$ P2 j
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.% c( a% R2 Q- _9 O9 S
2 ^6 \( B5 W- [9 A& p"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" $ t( }; `9 d) { + E& P3 a5 M+ ~* bOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.3 Z9 b1 \9 N+ Q3 l5 S, D, F0 J1 l
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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.( R& e3 k9 y7 H/ |. `: A- K7 N
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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. X9 Q9 K7 n& d9 a 2 r, ?5 l9 O) p! b, U$ k$ A"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.$ q' o0 R5 ~" `6 u6 v7 z' F$ `
& p* t; s6 z) w: _ C- KDue 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. 5 i! x) @' m3 f# n2 d% b) {- E+ H+ T) q' p
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. , H/ z3 p9 r# N4 q3 e% V8 x ^
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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. % h: \0 h6 R# w9 s/ C7 ^: m( t. P9 u/ I! {+ F r9 @
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 E4 E* \5 L! v/ M8 }6 @' Q
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ; {% ]2 I: C% Q" @
, [! u; n# E, q) N8 V2 r"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. / ]: }5 Q% k& Z, ^6 }
3 T2 m2 B$ _) U"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. + e8 F# d( L a5 a1 t6 t 4 Q/ _$ l+ z6 Y********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM