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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.* H! V2 p# f) ?4 j7 a; U5 Y
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*********************************************************** - d6 v8 _9 r! v& b+ a2 f1 }Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 7 C. J4 k7 @+ y+ _. f7 S, B. @by: PAUL CHOI ; I8 V! n1 q U* n
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET8 @4 c0 C+ l9 b
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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. 3 F; O. c( \* a ) e8 t0 x9 D, wThe 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.# G, d; |# G9 s; c* r/ |; [
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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.+ D3 H2 H1 U+ n! l' d0 n3 l7 U& G
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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." . X- t# |" ]! o' v% ^! ]' j! Q2 D! u) d9 O! J0 k" Z
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. - P' C8 f0 }7 _% v X2 s; W. L- ~4 {+ ^( V; \4 G% V
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.3 n- x& q- W0 a n6 U% \1 S5 L
G+ Z N; j1 b. p% d"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." " O2 R; `7 c2 [1 Q4 m $ v3 l0 w7 C4 Y7 ]# pOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.! D8 ^- U3 T3 @+ T+ w
- F; Z5 C/ A! G3 p" q; `Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. . K# _2 K* {. w/ Y) g' A ?6 _; k$ A, U5 _" N Y
"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." - N4 q+ y0 \( k+ |' O* \5 |4 N) G7 M1 W+ e; ^
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. % d* X+ h2 S# ^. q+ t: J 7 u$ G% X1 A6 [. IThey 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.. ~. G( C! G2 V7 R* [
/ V8 | G2 R8 w1 c7 ?* k0 a"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 0 y+ e$ s8 c% z8 B$ h! U ; j2 ^5 g0 |/ w* uOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.3 u( e; u9 u9 E* X/ Y* e4 Y" H4 h
) d% T2 K/ Z: s, B# g% jAided 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. & `* O" ]! ]' `" I8 y0 |, p; ~4 c9 C0 s9 _
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.# z- C7 ~. p# k5 U+ X
( s+ ~: ]* _5 `& O/ i; 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. + F4 R7 `- ^1 j, H# v ' f; ^4 _) R' g( [& y {9 b- qDue 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 I+ g3 ]% }- K# b% k9 H# m
/ t# f+ w" R4 ]1 AThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 5 i9 y c* H, H$ R( p
' d @ K% M7 V6 Q( RMeanwhile 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. , j4 A! J6 C5 @$ |. ?0 P. a
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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. + F0 R9 H) n0 {8 Z7 d& {/ P% ^: g6 n: Z! T/ G3 W. [
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. * d- W# r4 {0 v- ^" P 3 H3 M7 n/ I: t"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. $ W4 P* u x5 h- H, x, X! m
6 r' |7 F. r2 ~* }"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.1 C" Y' k. F8 `7 A5 m% b