3 B: M* J3 f. o" d" O$ Y( f, 0 x( \1 m \9 W) h+ ` { % Z8 C! s5 q: C6 y' a' G* @7 [the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. - e8 k1 \5 {; m) e: P% w: Q. r2 W; _9 y& J! y
1 B7 m0 z" Q4 t2 ~***********************************************************4 w- O" `! G& s& K- ~7 _& o Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado + \! r4 j) w+ Y) a# h; T5 z
by: PAUL CHOI ; j+ Q/ C6 F* o4 z, m. O2 C
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET9 D4 W; c, b( @* V. B s
) h" V* N8 T5 O6 X1 t
e% w3 \& B4 @' h% lTORONTO (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.& O$ @3 D4 E, v- m1 t& r7 @
* x1 c! e# m8 s" B7 ^. q4 v, hThe 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.1 Y+ t" _/ Q, j
! U5 h) D8 O& u, L
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.) W7 ~8 D4 o- } }+ F
; `6 ~' `; W6 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."2 F; m8 I9 Y) X' S, ~3 Z
$ R4 S. S9 q3 f# ^$ H3 P' d1 IA 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.7 w" e) X3 [8 m% y# Y# V# k
$ ~* {& i* _, Z/ q; L/ YElsewhere 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 c' g5 k" P" k- I+ ~2 N- O
9 N, l' h3 i+ N A* ^- Q"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." 9 s) j$ H! c* O; S& t# r/ O' g$ @ , D6 Q( v1 T0 x: p: YOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.' X8 i3 }+ ^8 E% x, y) U
) c+ u, ~2 u3 A7 p8 B( DAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ; j! s% {8 Y, `* Q, f+ L! F! @ t& g+ p/ x# r/ 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."* X/ S3 s! V% q2 Y! q2 B7 g
& \' ~: U2 u' W3 L- L1 GFergus 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 v6 @% ]& ^8 V/ i& h9 }3 s
) s% `6 v3 R' C8 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.; h( T! y% V" s* g% k
" E, U0 ~! X$ Y; T3 J"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" : R3 @5 n4 c3 ~. h9 s# d5 `: a4 G. x( V% t9 }
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.$ \5 {" J' t( H
% Q A T T" v: l
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. ) e+ X, m7 b5 o( \" B# D 0 a( z% }( U0 M9 QCoulson 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.) I9 S/ @/ ?$ l' r2 z' \3 W1 p
5 b/ z6 h7 @1 F# j* q1 w+ M g"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. ) R2 F- H/ u/ X, ` z- P - t9 ?9 u G" Z4 Z* A4 yDue 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 d4 r6 j$ q2 E: G$ u - R% X+ K! E5 |( V0 w3 J6 fThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 5 r9 h% F% e5 c# M- \) H4 u8 R8 a" F
) u1 K' f! [+ b+ P
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. ! ?' u* H9 Z. O) a
9 p7 ^' w7 ? M3 |
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. ' N8 q: P4 [; {, H A8 J7 V: Z! ? 9 t2 G% Z; j6 c& g2 PBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. t$ ]& e1 r- y9 t& v( b! p- {+ Q
! R3 t! h5 ? [# f( i( P"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 y, k4 v5 [) }2 I2 K1 a
% W2 o* ^* \( [& P1 W8 |
"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.4 u) e$ n5 Y" z2 X
& a8 p2 [8 w( w
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM