" S0 {- o: N0 I6 J$ Xsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado+ m( W/ G+ v) B$ w1 n( h/ }
, K' r7 c- S. t: P1 g* Q8 X4 T, 6 @$ d; ?' ^0 \5 s& C& g; J- Q 6 S& \' r0 }2 U' G- Zthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. / Y" \+ ~0 P* U6 F. R; Z( K/ o; [% y# w6 n8 d' r# H1 T& {
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***********************************************************4 G4 c5 q6 ^- H% S& ]6 N9 b Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ' J8 R' ]3 b, K1 t+ h' ~
by: PAUL CHOI 5 ~! _3 A( Q* ^* S# z7 `
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET' N; F' H' V9 E) R/ o; W" r9 E
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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. ' _7 f# H5 r! i- M. ]4 h( g7 S ' C: d- J( U4 s/ g4 v2 iThe 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.' m0 T/ i# d) a+ g2 Z; {+ j0 d2 ]
: B( I; ^/ B7 w. `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. # y$ `3 D. d' H ~" n+ J. m% _8 k* a% ~' w# b A
"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."" W: n; U! O: w$ j1 R7 q; Y" P" F: Q
6 O2 C# Y, _, W3 h1 ?1 v( K1 aA 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 K+ r5 |6 u9 R 4 k9 m% x) j Y6 Q0 o) \, gElsewhere 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. # [8 e) p9 ^/ H b Y# H ; r& ?8 B# R' _: X, c5 o1 H; H"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." 7 Z( j& T% A5 I0 H z& i2 L( O& A! X; ^8 w- 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.+ x3 e/ w, z# b1 {) P2 z/ v) Y
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.! K1 J; Q. C: G9 D6 f0 B
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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." + g0 X# l# W7 p w. Z1 \) _+ }. i: U' w
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) m) b; K7 y; @3 \
# D: S7 `' q& p& x2 @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.5 c p X* i% M# r! a/ ]7 `1 c
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" & K: D6 c+ P+ e! _' w 9 @7 l7 u) |; ~! \Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. , K: u3 k; {" C+ f- V( g 5 ~; B; j* ~2 s, e4 V+ z8 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. * M; ^3 X* w8 h3 \0 q( {2 p9 V; C* [7 c) L3 H4 V& P6 l: D2 J
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. 1 N: u5 j$ P, ~. ]. Q8 R2 v! \8 O! F N$ \" J A
"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. K+ f. C* T/ c, V& y' r3 a7 j4 C5 e* x6 G8 D. a
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. 5 e0 X# `" P' e+ k2 N. @
4 z" Z6 u6 T! Y3 h- {* {The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 4 c' d% ]- Z: r0 P: i- l- H: h4 X- G5 K& H! U
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. 6 m4 c( i$ I7 _) Z- r1 w
& ?9 }/ _9 U' z) b/ gDuring 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. ' b# Y4 W8 Q2 w& ` e
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. - \- c1 g8 }( w$ M: V0 g6 T . D( ]8 a* i3 L. Y0 X: ?7 ^+ V"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. 2 | ~$ t7 V! O8 I9 u& f% t2 y# }- v, b0 `
"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.8 s/ J* n: `* }6 y- z% Q
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM