9 Q0 p: d. l7 @/ g! [* U) {southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado& U r g* p: B8 B7 K( V! ]2 u
& H( Z( o1 X' `3 M9 W: F* C, : C% |$ q, i& f) z/ G$ k7 s2 Q # w. F% V3 _+ H# g3 D+ S! u0 dthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. , A [" q, X6 u 3 z% p5 E& t% |8 [) Z3 z, ^' l. b8 f2 V- o
***********************************************************1 H6 a# ~4 F& ~' x' g& D Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado " `/ N7 x% t A% F
by: PAUL CHOI ) H: ]1 {4 ], w* C$ T0 E
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 7 P) ~/ T8 y3 a& E$ R! j , u; S" w' Q; ~8 f4 F( T% m. [' d: p" X1 e( I$ l2 D, b
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.# L+ \& e B6 t' j
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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. 2 o8 u7 V. F$ G8 K Q4 Q . B0 D+ n; h7 @# x3 dIt 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 Z1 S! o! p u9 r6 Q% _ B# _1 U1 d1 x1 t) Q: G$ D"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." p: z5 [4 H. i/ k3 R& V+ ?2 H6 h) B3 m% D2 D+ F2 T
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. 6 J) y8 d, O+ ` _% k7 i& k/ Z8 O
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.. o1 b: s! O8 K* Q% g
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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." 3 \5 |0 w6 L- z6 }9 M( ] 2 I' @& f: V! E, xOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 4 ^2 P9 k W3 p- i7 M/ s , U! s3 W9 l1 m9 F G0 W( a. z9 yAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.1 S1 J$ }4 i7 ^3 R9 [7 E
7 E; J( x9 j; X" E"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." 8 @9 F6 V& m) e4 d# K % g# Y& }+ M; F5 [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.7 N# f" g* f) Y! L' }; p: W ~
) D( F' s2 D5 w- f2 I' ?7 bThey 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. 0 V$ [: C" o8 ]+ }: K- | ; k) x! U5 `3 E5 E0 G2 n; \' r, P"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 0 }8 V6 ~ T# d0 x 3 m+ S" M0 }1 h7 p* T( x% HOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. . c5 D! B2 _2 T) g9 h 8 q" F. ^' Q$ n3 dAided 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. 0 E( w: w. a o- i6 Q( E- r; ^- Q+ K& K. V0 @5 j/ X2 `
Coulson 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. * W* k. c1 i7 g/ [$ I* ?' v 7 a7 S9 x! j; \9 {) ^* O0 e. w6 Y"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. * U* J' I& j* e; k4 L" Q0 W$ x5 Y* x" m& s" v4 V. I8 ?1 b
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. * P3 Q" _7 o2 d$ {2 _3 l; h
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 G, @3 _9 H5 ] K L7 ~; S: P+ L4 F, 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. $ X+ O0 m) W: g, }) a a" j$ A" k
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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. ' q; t6 ^* X/ U
6 L( `) w! l" ZBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , s4 E3 g* U( X6 J& L! v " E9 O: `9 R7 O7 M4 Z) g' B"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. 6 o* F U- ?4 i+ C ! h# U7 @) S% p# k- z1 i"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. 3 _+ m0 R' l5 Z- _# G ( Q/ Q% g9 J7 `2 ^********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM