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***********************************************************! d6 W' [4 j. c. s Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado . ~; ]" m! T) v3 c/ [
by: PAUL CHOI 0 ?4 X8 ]! k1 [. o. h# f. D! `, G
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ! {2 A4 t- D/ Q) D) o9 S9 z1 q, B3 P# E1 H" o8 _
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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. 1 G4 q1 z0 W# {+ s) L 2 T) O0 }8 J8 WThe 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. . Z6 i7 ?$ _9 c* Q- o' F" _% W5 n2 k( R7 n8 I7 ]0 X; S' c7 |
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.+ Q! g- u5 R. F0 i$ a5 [
2 Z1 K B) Q& B"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." {. {% [/ F) x8 z! M' v
3 O+ w8 o' \ N D- o) Y+ U5 B: w: rA 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.; v! u( `5 D5 E2 y; D7 Z6 X
4 `6 y$ x) J* }7 i+ Q6 LElsewhere 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. 0 S$ c8 V4 w6 w. _: Z Z w; Z3 v ; s# t' e8 @5 [& b"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." 2 F5 u$ \* ~& L# ~" B" }' A, ^% j/ ~, c
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.0 z6 g* |8 g. w
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said., y7 g$ n2 t5 k! i3 ]) O$ o9 ~
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"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." 1 F; {4 i8 O* o% s, C! Q2 n) B: l2 H$ ]& s
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.' F" ]/ y2 ] j
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They 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. " Q! `/ ~, w/ K( w; P9 ^( ~, ^ # a# ~9 ]! N: k"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"9 }& y: q/ F1 T
( B& S+ ~! T3 y* I' H {Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. . O. O0 w4 V3 w ( I/ u8 ]( b$ O; \4 ?! bAided 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.' e) K, Y9 N9 P
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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.3 H' O; k/ W& F2 L D& k- e
' k2 X7 e; S! M9 }1 n4 u"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.9 j/ z/ [4 e5 X! I+ ~9 R1 ]" y+ e
3 O/ S- P2 X4 a3 I; z* q! @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. % V! k8 ^; s) G5 o, U , [ F0 L# d: w0 C; |$ m3 p) DThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 3 C" Q7 }- n9 M1 }" p5 o5 w + p4 h; Z" N+ ~ B% a6 ZMeanwhile 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. " y; \! [8 m3 f* O
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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. / j! b" j5 }( I7 S / a9 y( Z/ O. X: p$ B0 t7 v) wBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. Q1 i# S+ X8 ^( f8 ?& q9 d- z9 G5 z
"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. 1 b3 t6 q4 {( d$ n4 v; |7 p
- i7 l* j' P/ M8 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.; x0 B" T& U( f5 i6 e
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM