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***********************************************************+ G4 e5 {8 `* s, Q4 \ Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado + D3 x8 ]0 e' @+ [! E0 qby: PAUL CHOI ' ^0 a+ h4 h' B) x2 D
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET" J1 `- ?. a/ E4 P u' \
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" J; a H2 H2 {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. , g5 [7 A* \2 F/ i1 N ?3 o $ i! n. G6 o1 p1 mThe 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. 7 Y1 q1 J6 I0 _, }' S$ ?! U9 g5 w+ H2 [0 t
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.+ z. {) ]7 v5 I
0 X, g) f( ~+ T0 M' t2 m- |3 ]"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.", Y$ M" e0 ^: L) r- [; d
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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. & r6 e* v C# y( V1 t( W. K" \4 C4 t2 ^0 M/ a) _- u2 ]
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. q; B7 o! R2 t; t3 u* U
. K5 }) 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." ' a# m8 Z! I1 v# L2 a. s @ $ h" o# b9 k4 T" c5 VOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.) s1 ` F; ~( ^ V4 g/ B
/ |7 I5 c3 L0 P9 L' i/ n6 \Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.0 _% K: D% g' i5 V$ \$ T
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"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 @+ L" w0 p* W0 {* O. W* K9 N# a, i5 f- w
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./ R. b! S1 V8 m! z
& e q) H' q$ Q# y/ A7 E0 G8 RThey 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.- m8 c. ^& b! h$ k5 K
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"4 J2 [- H2 D/ p9 m
! I- ~6 H4 ^, FOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.3 S+ f4 t. O6 k& q' l; H, s: x
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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. ' R* n5 U# p/ `( M6 d: D : Z, z- h% f" t6 T( F7 OCoulson 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 d7 j% E) V8 d5 z/ r! @, O, [+ B, M7 K- ]; Y7 B
"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. 4 k: G% @5 ]5 Z, Z, \8 D# ~2 U5 U' v) D( G5 G' g$ d
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. ' w( v4 H4 b8 ~4 y1 f$ @ ' g) D n5 J1 e- z1 G! hThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 g X4 y# z) ]8 `/ A; h! S
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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. # f2 m |3 @7 [' g& D+ B7 P
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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. $ g7 t# W$ f# _9 i& p
4 ~0 Z5 i( B% PBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 o" j" n& q$ _6 n& c
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"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. ' K; C' ]% z% q9 ^* m9 v e! ` a% T# w7 x9 G# |8 _. Y+ 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. ; G0 a) {5 I& Q$ J& v $ L. v0 B! U1 B8 _********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM