- K, W# p6 K9 V+ u, , y5 z3 y8 Q5 J: V- C d : A; r. f5 A! S" Hthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.2 G3 W# }0 s5 g9 l
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% y4 b8 D5 }% g3 a*********************************************************** 8 r- v+ N. v4 ~6 {Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 7 |$ P& \3 ~) f" Q. d0 x/ C6 Wby: PAUL CHOI * S+ J4 i/ f; W- f M2 B5 }. v1 vSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET; ` K6 k, V9 S* C8 ?1 f
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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., u5 r: [& n% j/ A) m# Z
' u6 Y S$ T$ X) yThe 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.' D: G: J& ]0 a9 _& [0 C
$ Q$ h" j0 U5 G$ RIt 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. + S; Z& B, A3 ?2 [0 Z3 v% N- C& v; b# x
"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."# t* ~4 w: w) k( H, s3 [
+ D" Q) y2 [2 ^- |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. $ ?) v' s5 Y. N( V / R# }' d' M, Z9 `" 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. . p3 d; r# N& I( D* L) c3 A) f 3 x/ ~* c0 v/ S% N% D+ ?" x) i"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."6 C' {& J+ v! N: z+ ~; w
1 ] F( ?# G. n, H* Z+ A! Z' _# vOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.' ^1 L0 q* Q: i0 O: X. Y
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.3 i1 D4 q1 L! S/ h8 W
4 Z% t, r- o4 E' G"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."$ Y% X/ a0 w3 ?4 c" d+ n5 f
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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, G/ u1 I1 j7 O+ H' S1 K3 k- T0 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. * j$ x- g1 c7 o# z " ~+ C$ B3 j! s6 `5 z5 p0 _% p"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" ) e( L2 q0 y9 @ o* d + T9 | H' `6 ^: k9 R5 l; I% P6 `Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.1 H; d" S3 E1 h
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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.+ q. l( o5 e: [% }* m
) J" D$ E0 o; v* N1 G6 @+ n: i4 TCoulson 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./ K7 x) v$ S' i
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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. . B, U, ?, x# G, Y% ~. @5 l& l; i, o! C% x9 C$ U6 u
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. 3 F7 ^ F1 J& k; R( i' o y8 r- R6 J1 |5 e7 l( h. j8 ^. x$ r
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 3 X' ]" V2 L H
0 b+ {9 g" V" p& b5 ?- x2 U1 ?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. % [. A- o0 ]3 L# E; M) ~0 a: G5 f+ M( j5 N4 e
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. , h5 P; i1 `" v' _
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 0 y% l4 w% F. E3 _* D. |6 { : d! z7 M% s% }, M! I" ?( W"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. x/ ?$ L2 J) R. S. i% M
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"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. / X$ _ N- R& W- K$ Q+ `% H3 ]' f6 C3 G
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM