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thank you for the news, 0 ~1 ?* H# }: R* A) x: U* Ri have some news from toronto too...6 `9 T5 m5 r5 y; I
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toronto was hit by two tornado yesterday. Some place in toronto even 水浸!!!. - x' l0 `0 U. _) ?these are pictures from other sites, taken yesterday. 6 f: L5 x7 F$ h/ j) b! E" ghttp://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/050819_traffic_storm_250.jpg) Q% L' U' \8 t7 B
0 m9 R) I+ U( _* othe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.: E2 t+ V. h4 c7 K
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***********************************************************4 d8 o/ N0 y9 S8 }. I Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 6 |" F2 X% g/ P- c- Yby: PAUL CHOI * E" J) t3 ?8 e! \Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET c7 N$ ]9 b* Q/ X* v, a' ` ; V5 n0 `! [2 {* b/ m& C) E6 R 8 B! P7 {- b; X J& K4 iTORONTO (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 b! i8 {$ z( c! {/ R 9 s5 Q; V+ E5 Z+ o9 g4 N8 {, kThe 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. + n% s& T; K, X- F, g. `) R/ n7 e3 X) T, j; N- z. ?& ~
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.* m6 `3 K$ ~! F; O
/ o$ M+ q; Q- [8 ^# o; F- v"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." " S* m" x5 `/ |) |( O8 n0 [, t5 |( i9 E& ]7 O- ?6 z$ q
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. 0 K2 N I1 u( U. @/ h5 Z2 d) s5 ]" s* a2 U* i) L+ N- l
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.) @8 j4 y( o/ G! V0 I
5 D8 M, ?7 b0 @7 s `5 A& O3 t; J"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 n8 q; y X9 u: t& u1 P Z* D
4 Z A7 g x \. sOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.8 P" v4 F8 G0 Q
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.9 J$ F' O- X/ e( D
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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." & \8 v# }/ m) Z8 E7 s* U 5 Q( G6 h2 \) T$ H. d8 \( ]# j' L) OFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.9 t7 z; m* i1 s6 i+ d
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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.& R% S! f$ r) y/ T0 Q3 G$ t
7 g9 b+ [0 X5 ?1 S. E"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"* W4 d% h3 M3 A; @' {' p! x3 m
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. . ~0 ?4 b4 ^8 V1 y 4 G6 ]- z% H0 J/ v+ nAided 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 x4 {; G# l7 O
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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. ! [, A0 t- T- G; k; G! n# u: ^ : ?) I: { H) ~5 M# f& k$ W"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. + |5 ^# } A& h; k( r 4 T2 ?4 X: i# {! T5 I4 m; fDue 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. 4 [2 v' l6 K5 H2 E$ |% }0 ]* |( s- `4 Q# _/ M, p
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 9 P7 A9 i) X* N; W. O ) N- H2 u6 v) q5 D0 U% i0 FMeanwhile 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. 1 D5 I, 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. ; Z! U2 M4 G6 o- C( Q+ W, a
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. : @; ]5 _* y8 | x2 n6 C9 l( v9 O"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. * J- Y( _+ l7 G& {, A1 w 4 H8 A; f" F7 Z) D, E9 B W"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.0 P3 p, |% s3 q, `$ E5 N