9 g' P+ ^) Z8 f, 1 o+ }7 Q6 Y3 [+ A- |6 B/ } * p. y; H J( a! {the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. + \6 Y9 d, ^) h9 Q% c ) S+ w" }4 F4 s0 i* M ! d) p, Y7 Q' ?" u3 i. }*********************************************************** 6 z4 C& T1 U, G$ }+ x: ~Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ( D( r2 }) M/ f- [$ _+ J
by: PAUL CHOI : }# e# F% h( x; [2 Y B
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET+ J$ p$ X; S4 ~- m* {# J* ]2 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. . ~/ `: e% f9 u6 U6 X1 A# h ! q8 _4 d" K5 U0 u# b7 G) c4 NThe 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.8 V( J/ h3 `6 d' _( x
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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.3 `2 b- g2 ?% ?. V) a; F9 x
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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." ' x! u' X; r! g+ D1 }" ^ F( m$ G- `2 `7 e1 uA 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. $ @/ C8 W; q7 n' r5 |6 g" |- i" ]/ ?
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. A; X& \4 R: d/ I2 O
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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." 8 I& b( Z T/ r- P; y N3 ?' p, V+ B& e( I
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 |2 k/ m9 W& ~+ \1 h! Q: Y
7 {/ C8 x) K9 r7 c$ F& uAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.; ]" T. |; k I! V4 K
, _9 U3 r9 C$ P! i- z- w+ c! `' V6 ]"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."3 ^9 `9 @) c9 [ I
- T9 @5 M3 O5 u' l$ G' C3 z2 w4 ]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.1 C/ F+ x$ K: [7 l
4 N' m' ?8 @2 Y! G4 ]& H* fThey 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.1 H1 D$ p4 D- P( O
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"8 g2 D5 ]$ U8 t' y
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. & b( \+ ~' O3 c+ {- q3 ]) E* b# E" ^
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.* Q1 |1 f; R2 Z1 q K
% H( T/ g( u8 Y) [; qCoulson 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.4 g$ S Y; u$ e) j7 R
* t7 W$ _8 G) A0 j n7 S"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.. J- I, r# G( N
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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. - ]) @( Q: B. N, f. T
3 k/ ?4 e; n6 H( VThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 7 Z- X# @* l8 f l C' l/ {) x3 d: @& ?, A* T
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. & u1 R- u- B$ k, J+ N4 T
+ }% e1 `* M* y9 s7 V# P5 b3 }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 y& c9 N7 K& Z% L; R" d
; ?/ l0 W! `( _2 e& k& O. hBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , G( ?( l9 H, O5 m/ E& k" q& W7 D
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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. 9 D6 G8 D) w o* @, O) [: W
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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.+ t! F- T% w7 U. [
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM