! Y: W' Q# |) ^( p- E6 n4 Isouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado" ]: M6 b) H4 ]! D3 m
% A9 b" M, w& H, " ~+ g' |- X$ q 5 Y1 `# G1 [3 j2 n: othe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 7 J. d" L2 q* V4 T8 K2 ]! {6 I 9 T, p) ~' F0 ^5 w- O/ d, u3 Q6 \3 Y' |2 `
***********************************************************2 C4 Z2 Y$ X8 [" s7 b8 }; P: | Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado , l b' ]7 Y+ gby: PAUL CHOI 3 ]* n5 p' H& p6 P0 ?Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET # N7 }) B' K& a7 C4 U4 D ; N, V0 ?$ s& y# m) f L" e / X1 E- P6 Y2 n% ^* | T7 N) f7 ETORONTO (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. # G. ]# g; s' r9 @+ W0 a4 a. l - q2 q- d& ~9 L! s$ RThe 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 U2 }! l. o2 m: f7 h8 ^1 w
1 z6 u1 y" t: l* L* T8 j' Q3 UIt 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.6 S: Q) z6 ^) R j, R
# i- u& \" V( `+ n& u& @0 z: ~
"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."5 P$ W4 X8 h, s9 o& H* X# J
0 z- i0 C' U9 Y+ P
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.2 E) Q# U- V! @5 W
& F% L* L$ j' f" eElsewhere 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. 0 e/ l2 B7 P/ S' R4 R0 u1 V! i C+ [7 r- W5 E! k l
"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 x$ K0 M h; i$ w8 L
7 p% j. A" N5 j7 gOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. : g M* R* `$ N' b) g! _6 }& ] 0 @2 ]7 Q. ^0 T0 M: b- X/ u& l. w3 hAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.0 i0 N5 Y! ` x6 |) n& W
4 E+ I/ Z! I9 {+ ?
"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 l! Y; c7 N' H# k, x( w, c4 Y' K% i5 L1 k
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. y0 _/ k' r9 K
( f7 C5 ~" x' ~
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. ' t/ q' [1 g4 m: P7 L . ?# ?; |" V9 u) Y! f"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"* I9 r! p5 L! W8 E% s
. x/ E' k, _* u+ x9 O0 T9 }Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. * O8 K0 r c) V- y/ ^- h, T7 T$ X' Z j4 c" B9 t @
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.+ E4 ~( ]; s* ^% q |% J
0 J7 f4 K+ s+ Y! ?1 c8 [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. - G1 N- e) E) y- z: Q2 W O) u4 B' U, \2 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.! t) o, i+ t% L
1 T4 G$ [( ?; n/ s$ @ r4 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. , w5 n7 Q/ y) y
5 h7 l. W: p1 G- _1 l3 f sThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. & ]% P* j) j9 N2 a) d: D0 F1 D" n5 X8 i# S2 s
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. ) q E. D! Z+ a- P' [5 t% W/ g1 K% x
5 P; z* l) b% G0 Y& d0 y
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. % D# d4 O7 J8 P: p. r: q g% n c
9 O; Y1 y5 J7 N$ e- LBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. * D0 a' J( H, |( _; k9 y: ~ P' q6 l
; j" d# X5 P6 Y: s
"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. 1 F7 A# T$ L: k 8 ?( A' r" m3 E) w2 J: o2 n"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. - Y3 S9 G4 A3 h9 A% \. K- }7 g! w3 f9 R0 R0 A
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM