$ }, G; }- B; J) O3 B7 q! g 8 r6 s0 L5 h( m0 z* t ; |) M% G! r6 Y3 q( c' D# b% Jthank you for the news, 1 U4 P5 h' u$ H$ E* Ui have some news from toronto too...( D4 T) W! D0 n6 e1 g; X* g; h
% ]8 k- M. I# o+ D5 ztoronto was hit by two tornado yesterday. Some place in toronto even 水浸!!!. h6 s) f3 E# y: N' ~# b2 B2 R0 t* C
these are pictures from other sites, taken yesterday. 3 y9 J2 e) G6 g' shttp://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/050819_traffic_storm_250.jpg" s& R! s- T9 ?. G
2 g# v% j( A( W4 V$ Z( F4 chttp://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_storm_050819.jpg " Z/ P! J$ u# f' d' ?6 K 5 Q+ u7 @4 B( {6 Rhttp://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_flood_050819.jpg + k- w$ h7 j+ L$ F r0 m* R; \4 b. ^& P! x& p& g
southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado* Q* Z: _& B% c$ B: @
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, 0 Y T( a7 d/ M% E. b$ R) G * c7 D6 \) }) }' c9 Rthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. * o' L6 O; x" ^8 k& V% p3 q+ K/ A6 V% K
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*********************************************************** c' p. v- e" a0 v Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 4 @7 T" H9 z2 ^# o9 M4 o
by: PAUL CHOI * P5 X$ G% E4 e9 t: k$ ?Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET/ p: ^5 Y `& _5 w" \* q) G% ~
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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. . G, y6 ?/ d# h# L8 O; n! u- D% u9 |) n- k' @) D+ G
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. : ~( g" A4 b- H: ~9 n+ n2 j' j / ]$ ~, ]8 B( K$ s' B* \. [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.4 i* ~- |& a2 n; p7 T* v
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"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- F" Z( x; I U4 P8 g) m1 n: r/ r1 x2 O9 G) \& H7 J
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. c+ u+ P7 Y$ l9 }4 |2 ?6 d( B$ {- H& O- 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. : U' r- E0 }/ Z3 h" ^# h7 P- m ( U: S4 }( u. y2 ~$ N$ b! V"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." ( O2 k' _' {7 d7 `+ A7 u# P/ W/ z& M. W7 x
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 8 v+ \3 A0 i3 k* C+ L3 _. T. j1 m5 A" v# E+ Y/ y$ B9 @. m
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ _6 c- ]- y+ Y. x& h
9 n5 H4 `, I% t"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." 7 u/ O& g' w8 B) t# u 1 D( k% K1 K; U# h/ I9 x* dFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.. z, D4 m/ K# Q- }, ]7 X |
" \$ t7 R6 J+ I# iThey 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.# i4 l# H# E9 {9 S5 i
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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# x7 j/ v" n4 A1 N. ] N n' K) t1 H D6 T# Z8 n) S! }
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.1 _! o) T( U# ~# v5 F& Q' N2 g
5 s4 E- v' ?# E3 U$ O1 |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.5 b: t& ^1 h3 P( U2 D# A$ ]
6 Y% [. f8 M/ C: ], cCoulson 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. % m9 G B; a7 S; v) H! v r# r. K- }7 _3 L1 d
"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. 3 D% j! j# m. L u& ^2 d' \: R1 B- w6 O7 Q0 n+ J
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. 5 A/ ~: h$ \0 m+ B, G
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 6 v0 c1 f8 e6 J
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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. 3 z$ ?8 L! h: v
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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. $ F" {. K$ k2 }% R5 z+ E; K& v
% q- T2 O! i* e8 S! C U2 Y I IBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , o L3 t/ j/ ?3 }6 ?5 p ) J6 Z3 P1 e5 w0 ?2 ^"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. ( p* o. z7 m# 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.% B" e6 `: D# ~- C7 g3 m+ q