3 m% ]+ E: D" i4 y* T- e7 Rsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado : V* I; Q0 B: ^3 m3 P' y / r9 u9 @3 ? t5 A% Y," B/ B+ z! C( L
7 L6 m# l$ h X+ _+ s, Gthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage./ e3 Q2 C: t$ s9 s4 Q% i* N
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. Z/ }9 V3 t* ]* j) O# O***********************************************************+ w ]8 g- e+ ]' p, n$ o Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado % A' R- Q+ C# v V# Z5 M
by: PAUL CHOI ( Q4 i' \! N( A
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET! Q, J& {- u& G) a G% T# r4 t9 Z
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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.3 P6 ?4 `1 ~9 ]6 A# J1 `+ N1 n
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The 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.% @- _0 G/ J4 M/ r0 V& a
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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. 8 M% ?# }) w: q7 q Q( |# B ( H; s0 F0 a6 o: m. O"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." ) v! |+ f4 Z( O9 E3 k0 H O1 i0 V& C# k# p/ g
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., h; k; i" E0 V6 o0 Q
* D! {/ k" k2 ]/ ~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. N J. J6 l6 a% @0 ?- }+ b- H) K
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"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."% c0 B3 Q3 J/ j9 r
9 r$ N9 i' @2 ]4 L/ kOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. ! m* D& C+ S" R3 d6 I8 c 7 [* N" B1 w, X8 {Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ |: t8 C/ v! f5 B6 G3 a; I" V5 a
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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." % n7 R0 Z% |5 I1 ?# v/ I9 f6 F) c3 V: R3 S; F7 f, \
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.) ~9 \" [/ L5 a5 W( y) j' r
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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.7 _- P4 N( Y% @7 n. B8 _6 ?
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" * m( X8 ~! H2 y0 R- T' y4 l2 E' z' u; a; `+ J
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. # }# f9 @, z8 a* O ; k. y2 W7 x) }" P! V$ z: ^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.2 E/ Z6 X! M6 n, V: K' T+ N$ G* a) u
8 W, d* J! L% J, i5 R7 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. ! X& G0 V* Q9 I. H2 z 6 ]* K, `" E+ y; M' 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 N, T( R/ f. E1 c/ G& `3 | X4 d
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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. % `' v; f& y+ g # n" l2 o! K- a, Y/ b- xThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. & E! |0 A5 w; _4 [3 V5 i$ n+ s% ~% k( M3 \7 g
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. - Z& d% m5 P) o3 Z 5 j- N' j4 ~8 d0 w6 ZDuring 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. ! }% n% h6 b( B U: D3 p5 [+ t. n$ o- J0 o
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ; y9 k8 s3 T+ R5 _5 v; l% Z4 |( q3 Y$ O& W% S% L3 D1 f
"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. " `- d3 H5 F+ s2 u2 m( p6 ^% K! N
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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." w* t. P2 [( {7 n