I" [5 s) S, ~& P, N" p+ \southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado - A4 W7 D6 J( s3 O' R& l. p4 c8 `4 E
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9 U/ i9 F. X; z3 \4 e9 v4 c. _; qthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 1 Q. x% U- F# ~& a1 I" x+ u; w! _4 o' k 0 z. q# s+ }% a; p8 F. p3 F# _' j- ~+ c8 ^2 u" e: E) ~. T6 u
***********************************************************2 u- y; ?& A0 Y, U0 J Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ( o$ J, Z4 a8 |4 g4 p
by: PAUL CHOI ( W6 u+ N& V: r. r5 @
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET J# ~1 ]0 F, n
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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.& t2 w( ]- D1 u0 W) o' O
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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. ~! A5 s3 ]) a0 v3 Y- j
6 y: p1 {# C! u% f) h+ t6 a# _/ yIt 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 ^2 k9 `' s0 F/ H# [* y0 q# E6 r- a0 ^4 \/ l5 g7 y
"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." ( @! a5 x5 t* l# ]/ i7 r. V ; l( N9 ?2 Y0 m+ ^- sA 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.1 |1 A2 L7 P6 A! l' u' J! {. }
8 b1 x I* G* R7 j7 ~5 P/ ^2 |3 TElsewhere 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.9 {1 y6 k) k/ a* H
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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.": W, e; e. N0 b, C- e
; ]7 M. ?. M0 U+ j0 f; NOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.( E9 }. p* f+ [- V3 C6 A% E x
/ E! n$ h9 b1 WAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 4 z |. ?4 K5 K3 k3 w) j% Q 6 M$ T) g0 w( r3 C"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." / c# p4 Z* }6 w* v+ ~8 P: k7 `& y# H5 M) k' X3 }5 _) Z9 p
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.. B4 B9 E: Z1 S' {: h1 [
1 b& Z8 D) a# [2 o( J/ M6 CThey 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. 3 p9 g* \5 r* r q 8 X, n6 F8 X1 q1 @"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 1 w/ F9 D' z) |; L: Q & H3 @ B- {/ l, z; dOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.! p* P8 L* g: v1 P$ l }/ d& t5 i
% E5 I7 n+ Y7 v: G7 g1 F% @9 jAided 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. 9 f& H1 P* g' i' p1 ~ / _/ P8 ` z! e; VCoulson 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. ' P! i3 C$ ^+ s" |3 j9 i 1 C. b- b, z1 H; o% ?: f"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.' l& Q& \1 D. ]+ P# a
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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. . S- F* S. E( W8 @+ z! c- \# a/ e8 [, @" n( i" W4 A; n' x
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 v y' D- V2 u, e0 E- ~0 R i" B9 j% }
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. + e, _" c2 x% | m" F6 N, @6 `: `8 C# i$ T
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. 4 z! s% u8 a5 r7 U' l6 G
% C, F8 B9 @" R; H( i- NBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 m! G. v: z$ H, z3 e2 T' J 7 A0 z ~2 _0 z- T/ R- X3 X"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. - A: j/ A- b* M0 r# R
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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.4 y: N A4 C7 j9 m
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM