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thank you for the news, : e r- v0 z- `9 }
i have some news from toronto too...! |$ ]+ {7 X- n7 x
% C- ?, H% `8 Qsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado # C7 v+ C; L* V2 _: v8 D3 Z 7 d( y& b0 w8 w* p2 P' v# a0 w- R9 A& @,0 t- {' q: v' L0 x; D
" g% D/ a! t- k- c1 |9 s- r3 Zthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.- n$ k5 X6 y$ A: l
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2 ?1 }6 m0 w% O3 `; ? X1 D }, j/ }***********************************************************# ~/ z9 M( S7 j) V o Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ' t; l* M$ g' S" Cby: PAUL CHOI , m" _( d4 M& T# r# [. q! \; z( n) y8 y
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET- F( P2 i& S4 q* H
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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. 5 e" h o8 |% V- s2 X; t* N, [* v2 m5 r: W/ Y3 z
The 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. " O4 }* D+ x0 v- ?5 h8 E: x/ y. _
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. , k3 Y; v& v, R2 l3 N3 i; p4 z# C! N" z3 _( t9 r9 F" s: t _2 x# t
"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 ^0 f" Q! I
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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. : j+ d6 c* S9 w" n. _! T* L& O/ a& W; W- z. m; P$ _
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.2 z+ E0 [9 N; V
- [) _5 m7 c& E3 J* d/ l2 u"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.": B$ ~. M9 n8 v9 }! E
, B- u5 G; n: IOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.* b0 N9 ^4 L* b5 C
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. + P& K; [1 I t2 N" v( z* b7 Y- l6 q: j0 R. C- a
"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."& o; D0 Y3 e, m5 J
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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.: y% B, ]" m9 r
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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. 7 h! `( c3 F! n0 n . d* R& V9 d" N5 f" ~2 t"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"" C- Y& I! r1 q, U% i) J- e
$ Y6 C: x" W! X1 a$ l3 n" VOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. ' F3 E; v. A, x5 {. R* `* W$ Y - ~- ~7 \: m7 H9 H3 }6 y" EAided 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.1 z2 Q. v/ Q) |% Z6 y0 o8 D1 X. d9 W- e
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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.5 l+ Q3 J$ c% s
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"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. / a4 m: B$ z1 G1 a9 C$ r8 A% Z, v( O% Z
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. * k5 K9 }. u" u& A2 H/ J5 V% a- |, t1 G+ f
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 w3 `) _3 q$ \2 R* l4 M3 i# A# B( C/ b; x4 v' [
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. + g; V9 g' L4 U2 Q7 \( i, B( p" H# X
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 c# A4 H F$ I9 b- ] & u# Q5 b7 b. E1 HBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. $ ^3 H/ I2 X6 m! e/ v
2 t1 o0 b. u2 V( k2 I"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. $ P" w& B6 r1 I5 b6 E 0 Y- s/ }6 V4 d" C. \"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.& L, m/ ?5 O3 r1 U