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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 3 Q/ t+ l6 F7 h" p. |+ N7 X" n" E! R' w$ ~' b" q( r! w
$ r* K( u4 O8 m3 H* o7 _4 r*********************************************************** 5 v4 s' I; a: A3 |$ c2 U4 D6 pResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 9 f5 |8 k7 F4 T3 @+ `) Yby: PAUL CHOI " S4 ~6 z( g4 { {* ?; }Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET8 U7 F* C& C: N' [% M/ |
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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.4 G! Z4 L& ~1 C$ o i$ Y
0 k \! K/ L. M4 VThe 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.5 x9 b- |% [2 Q7 S0 o+ J: O: H
0 L$ w, k; `5 _( N1 {8 {) VIt 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.' _1 c* p8 u9 C: J7 }) Z! v: V4 ~
5 ]- T5 U& d3 U* b' j"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." $ \) G! A+ r2 S: Z5 V6 l& L$ w b Z& i, ~" ^
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. ' q; ^$ p2 d. J) [ ) I1 l6 P8 k( r3 @' G5 Q7 wElsewhere 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. 9 X! a4 I$ f+ p" ]& R, y5 E/ d( ^; J9 i& i- t d2 g' B
"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."& G9 w6 ?+ n2 F- G
; i7 _' `7 X4 ?$ X5 TOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. - i5 X4 }5 ~5 a8 E4 v8 K * v" a4 r8 b: p5 DAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ( [! V3 V+ j/ J& ~ ) I+ ~* M: K, T5 H+ |"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." 1 i! o* b8 A$ E; _1 t! O5 ], l4 K4 z4 `0 G' e& U! ]5 l: {
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/ D- M; v
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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.) N- s# e+ {' C3 e( u1 F
A1 u6 `$ I0 |/ O; y"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"* R' h; H: M# ^
% @) o) c j' G) eOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes./ B6 z0 t5 D- c
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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. $ l1 Z% R+ d4 k8 f' S5 F / n* g7 ~3 J1 n6 N! j/ U. Z$ ZCoulson 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. & K" a0 R. ?! V, I4 w' g3 C% [7 [' l& T
"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 {/ X1 \- E% i K) o4 x8 n! v, y, K+ r+ H, o* c3 R- K
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. 6 p/ ~ X2 p1 Q2 k
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ! v& o& t+ W' X* Z# |% Z) |' |' s5 x7 _
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. ! Y$ c2 A; ]4 Q+ p* s: Z, t2 u) R0 _3 H, k$ k
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. * ]/ A0 D @2 d) R! B/ s1 p" y; w% E0 H) m3 P: M4 O
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 6 X0 R' v5 I( ]! E
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"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. ; F& G* j3 v* Y! O8 C+ K1 h/ S7 j. A1 W
"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.( m% |- v5 v& f) A! d! w/ Q1 s" S
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM