- j7 D0 | f, x- ^the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. S- [& A, |, M3 b
$ g' {) n' F8 J; m" v2 I2 r, |/ E 9 w: t3 R( z3 Y& L# R; a9 }: D, y. c***********************************************************, ]0 Z% v! b- x6 B/ n& [+ u7 h Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ( o' q% A" I5 r+ ?, e
by: PAUL CHOI 4 H9 I. e* i8 W7 `; p. j# QSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET1 j1 s6 T$ J0 D7 O3 f4 l
# U1 \/ j0 L% V 6 U1 U. v! K2 P+ C, xTORONTO (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.' S6 H# y# T, _; ]' @2 H- q
/ s: |+ M! e6 s' I( }: m( }* @5 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. * U" I# \1 U. P0 W+ d; t* `3 c7 ?) V, |! f# k3 d
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., P8 d7 B: k; @1 C3 m
R1 X( i0 |% `* f. m"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." ]9 N- D% J/ Z, |9 E
! n; t. l$ D2 \1 Z" tA 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. , V4 ^7 x4 S; e2 E: H! o+ q$ J8 e+ v$ C# l' E) h* ]
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. ! z. N4 _ i8 _9 e2 c; i i! ~6 Y0 V" c% o
"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."; N9 h9 q0 |4 s; v6 r# y
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.+ A2 }5 I* V# l0 f$ C- t! e
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 8 d. g# x* ?3 u# U7 v& ]2 I' H: i+ S) _- F% I9 k3 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.") n7 B. u; j+ x
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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. ( H9 a' |% O- e $ y5 \2 a+ [0 L) c) p$ HThey 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. % e. e2 T4 N' w& s ) R4 h' W+ O: ~% ? G"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"5 d ^2 v. n0 C2 D
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 0 W" |1 N: O* U* D. s5 |$ n ) s3 g2 O. o5 k BAided 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.: A. V# C" d0 ~$ A
; p7 V' W6 O7 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. 4 _ u8 w! R$ k; h/ b$ o1 s4 m4 C) m
"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.8 }& X1 q" i7 _5 L( D
: Z2 Q5 E% {' E2 h5 \+ j/ CDue 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. 2 E. [' K/ r5 G5 H; B' B7 _0 H2 o5 \4 n; m( y; {
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. " s8 `) M8 q" G. k( }8 ? r' h
0 e; I* b) v* j6 AMeanwhile 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. % D; `% Q2 H/ Y3 f$ n! e / e" C$ A7 r1 u7 v4 ?# qDuring 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. ; @$ g% o" w; U: C0 C' ~. } 2 y* \. I' h% s3 T* b$ F% LBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 1 h5 T6 x! \/ t& E& l+ X
7 p+ O0 s, G$ X( S# `9 z/ M"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. % q: {0 G9 ]/ k _% N* e
" O2 w4 F/ P- h/ v- b1 ^, U/ B"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. 2 A6 W, j# g K! B* q: |* p ! t0 ], ^1 P5 p; r- W" r" h+ z# |********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM