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thank you for the news, . A) q' g$ G* i( S1 {
i have some news from toronto too...( P- _1 [/ X. B& i, y
, ~% M1 O$ T9 i( D X4 K; b/ dsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado # k& k) v* d5 K! a6 G- P2 Z1 W6 |# o$ r" G" i! I, I3 A7 [* v# V% h
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. Y! u) p6 ^6 N: V0 {& n2 w( S% Q5 y# B
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***********************************************************7 `; ~# z) v8 I- q. s Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado # }1 J; y; l, Y* Y% u; Lby: PAUL CHOI & g+ y9 f! f% y4 U, ?( X z* D( k- J
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 9 l! m1 N, V6 `; U/ u {7 H! z. l% r, m1 w/ N; P
1 r; B1 n) S! f5 aTORONTO (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.' W n0 Y8 Z. E6 P+ _
L3 u; C7 S$ G" }. C( Z6 yThe 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.$ h( r3 L+ ^0 R
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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.. y- T t4 A; _2 p4 Y. o* X Q
- A. @/ M' S+ h; g7 O"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# b( e1 p8 q4 W' t3 a
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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. ! B. S3 R7 L/ e3 p 1 z) V4 B$ E" kElsewhere 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.3 E9 W4 w7 L8 x2 m
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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."6 R* T. k- {9 p J& X
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 2 I. r6 S( U# |3 _* p i2 J3 a' L. b9 j( N$ W4 b7 @
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.0 P/ t* H" O7 Z5 o. U& M
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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." & O& w, R: i& G2 D* \' m * b7 \ M6 w/ u# R- d& y5 v/ mFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. : u$ \9 C" b+ d8 F+ t+ U0 W$ M, f! ^8 }' q* n! G0 |( l3 D
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.4 x3 Z- c: a Q) a3 Q
1 n! E8 E1 h0 E2 j& d2 B. P"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" * n' e8 `2 u3 B( Q4 z. ?( c3 p D1 d$ m ; E3 r5 Z; z) Z) y6 i1 q/ ~, o( A% nOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. $ P- D6 X: c4 @" _ + V P' o9 g* n+ ]& M$ zAided 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. _# u5 n" ^' h0 x, p# y4 s4 [7 \
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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.% C5 `! N' q& {
; ?: U6 ^1 Z( W0 f7 Z2 L"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. " e, {2 G- N H* D4 S5 X& u 9 m$ t* @! G5 h( ]( V [7 F+ KDue 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. 2 q+ V4 Q' s- G8 C, }5 j W, E" |
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. % G" p/ l' i" e7 r R
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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. . Y. b; ?6 X& n( K5 B1 B* k
+ i# ? d7 `- ]; b5 h5 ~; EDuring 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. 2 s# i, ^8 x% }
' s+ r9 n) S8 K7 h! M3 n& EBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. + C5 w' ~8 C& ]+ H9 k
. f) E- @6 y+ `2 x"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 S8 S- Q* O; ?; Z; v - i* f) I" X7 O" j0 V"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. ) K; I. ?/ z+ o# v! ]3 r) {! N, D# j# E2 Q2 [& p* w0 @- H* J. s
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM