6 R8 J$ }! b' Z6 {8 nsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado ) N& \( t7 Q, W) [ - R x, C: J3 W3 n, $ U; F8 ?2 F8 \7 w# l6 T3 o, U& }4 _/ j( `
the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.4 S+ C1 G, J0 I
8 `( x9 f# X6 m) U& d- |$ j) L$ f: \! z4 d2 S2 Y" ^
***********************************************************# G' r1 @9 h S" O1 j( L Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 5 g) ? _8 {- x, P/ P9 e2 D( Aby: PAUL CHOI + b) s8 y6 P( C! }4 {# O" O
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET4 F8 Y* ]) [/ U# [) S: S* z; P" D( m# O
8 ?2 k3 Z9 x x( G0 ]7 P
- T5 @7 q% w, u, mTORONTO (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. 0 g a9 J, ]6 ?" G 6 M, k1 h& V$ O! I% n/ xThe 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.6 J1 S2 ?! g( R" Q$ l3 {4 n4 g
7 l' @9 z( d3 K8 |
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. 7 t6 M8 U* B& A: g/ L% G 0 e" b( U G* N# A1 G' R"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." 7 _# j; U$ F O6 m0 A4 j4 ]4 U/ t& E. G+ S+ ]/ y Q1 G! V0 C
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.8 k- F1 ]( a4 o) z; ], ]) {2 Z
y/ _/ R) W, R7 D5 U* G
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.* G, l+ l4 _% ~* `- H9 P
7 j1 z1 V. Y( N
"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." + L! }5 f( R1 C) ] b# Q2 ^6 }, g, o+ G0 \/ z4 t. yOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.2 q' r6 d4 P4 G! ?0 Z
% E5 A$ S! _3 d
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 4 ?. @0 t2 B: [0 I5 C/ W3 F3 B1 \8 R' d8 L8 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." 9 m* C! k( a# {9 g! g: E) [( _' {- i4 a! \' D" V" e
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. / v3 U: a- _$ }# @1 G- s8 H) y# ?9 Q! D4 i0 z( t' ~
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. & O$ N5 e- V5 |& k 3 q4 p, ?3 W, Z( S) s5 [, C) k"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 2 W' ?4 R6 |6 o6 d! e0 s# w. J5 T& d3 q; J8 F% L3 E
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. # K' x6 I8 Z" x* ?* d3 I1 h2 N7 Y! l& d. @# P
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. % L7 `0 x {4 X & V4 X( m O( Y aCoulson 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. 8 V2 m5 c5 H. Q( ~: s' m2 ^, \3 ~9 E. \8 Z9 L3 i1 E
"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.% }7 z. K" Q) B- d# N2 J
" A" _% b2 ~$ M, w1 A8 S: l ^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. " g/ D% Z# p( B @% e; a7 e1 z
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 7 ?" _9 v; T" ]" n- x* p2 b
: m% `0 O* E3 ~5 a2 Q2 Z+ K0 FMeanwhile 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. 0 P; u `: a( n1 r) n7 h9 K( Q. W" e* t$ R0 T6 J. m4 f
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. - G- Q5 E( N& |3 w+ X1 w6 U
! Z- c: } Z* Q: o1 PBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. / A* ?8 G/ t6 z! x' g, k' g& U* @+ G0 \" Q) H ]6 d& \- p
"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. + ~) ^9 K3 Q d. p: C
; T, v& Q" W! W; Z& V8 Z: C3 x
"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.7 i' U. a' y/ W. g) T
+ _' Y! R: ^1 `. C9 ?- D
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM