- P/ u# k6 n. B' uthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.0 [ O* Y/ H9 N- v
2 q N t7 D' R) M: `1 C ~! s8 v& n0 V( @ W
***********************************************************% C1 ]; Y1 F+ Y Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 5 e7 O( Y9 n6 p z4 Aby: PAUL CHOI ' T6 S" h, H" v* P& BSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ( W. U- \% D }5 { + o" L7 _, e0 x u, E+ p3 p: d" K- U o& g0 `" J
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. 6 q0 ?. ?1 `" [2 I) T ) J# g- K! s* t9 O9 V/ P) |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.5 |3 F/ d- T8 E4 O8 \# @/ f& U
, r% g! H: Z+ z# B+ \) J
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.7 q" _) m: M3 P2 u% m- t2 }
% a j% O' U- f! t"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."/ q& }; ]) F ]6 z2 {
1 U# @! |7 i6 B' I; O1 E" _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.9 t. g' L7 j$ `* X2 X& n# P9 b
4 o# _ w9 {+ [' s/ O4 PElsewhere 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* P7 [& {9 {( d% } 2 _7 L/ |; D* B" I+ v/ ^8 `"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." 0 j6 W0 `/ M3 {, |. I; L3 \" k9 Q) J' S$ ~9 ] p ]. _6 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. ; j: D1 F: X2 ?' [4 i 5 s3 v' [* k7 e5 yAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.; q5 p+ E/ A O
, M6 v- F7 K7 \5 C. ^9 `; b( s"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." & v( D! Y; Z6 V% @% q; i+ e% z8 k5 l/ z$ o) r$ a9 ^5 j& C0 _
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.8 Y7 t9 F; X( m& M- k/ x( l, U7 |
7 f; _' x# j! a8 u) rThey 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. # A* W2 e7 V6 ?$ }* X+ {$ S ( F- ~3 R# m3 c1 X+ x"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?", ]7 f/ K! n2 \3 N$ f- n
: |1 v3 f' i, k3 v& j: Z. _
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 2 ~8 { }7 }7 T V+ i4 _$ o5 o9 p: g* V2 B
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. 1 a7 H4 k: T$ K* u% `( ]: b0 x ; U) g& u6 W, T# f" D$ |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. ! ~9 H8 _2 O* q( @2 W# x6 d- T. b, B, 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. 1 }( U! G% a+ X/ x5 P) M# r* Q k. ]9 _4 Z* `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. % J8 F" Y! K8 S$ { " V" V% r5 B" o9 k) @The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. / u) w) u/ f: V
, ?* Z2 O9 E6 s9 }: v9 jMeanwhile 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. ; T3 i) G% l. R( n & \0 Z3 f+ D x4 LDuring 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. + ^0 n! k( b: c3 {3 g
$ Y# ?3 x2 ^4 u+ h# }
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. # c% g. t7 O0 e$ ]# a0 j$ Z5 d; v0 G: g1 M: 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. - n7 E" \0 e, Q! L% B5 d. D6 \6 K, S; A, f
"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. / R; C; y% v5 t" Q3 {" { ! _) \3 B" l4 z8 s9 j$ A********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM