8 V8 {; n7 i0 vsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado* |* X" e7 M& |4 B) [( ^9 q
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.9 G+ _& D7 a3 p, C( G, m5 B* {$ w9 B
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***********************************************************+ m9 |. Y5 z) l# X1 ]# { Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 3 b# O' q l" V0 T# k9 lby: PAUL CHOI Q, B* U% c8 V
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ; \9 H* N$ W9 H6 y/ d ( |, Z. u) Q7 _ O2 T , ^/ W. Z7 Z+ y2 u4 VTORONTO (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.9 j& W3 r0 P! Q! M. }# N
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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.* f7 Y _! U8 u; g; ?
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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." \3 p7 \8 k' N/ P$ d' y
6 R& ?) G4 R$ o0 S8 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." 3 o' V9 r& T# y- i5 Z3 {$ k% [ V, d) i; Y8 b3 O b
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.5 R& e. \, T8 G, y
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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./ L/ H% [ [2 K( E( J$ \/ w- t/ m
# y3 Z/ |% f0 n/ q: s% u- x"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."4 b) r6 ~$ z" _3 a
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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.3 { z% n2 U2 b. U; F, \; @
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.3 n/ G* z3 F1 ?( x# L; l
! r0 K' p" P) L+ _9 {"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." % Y& E, t" w( E2 N 1 Z# ^( l3 I( hFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. 6 g) h! M, `/ A6 v1 M7 i $ S2 D% s. O: @! u% k. qThey 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. 6 S) H5 ^# p% S7 H/ x# w% o; [' ?) j% F9 d+ F
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" ; [: \/ c7 S- g e# U + q: v# u& a% HOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. % u, [: X& |/ b- z& o. @& M& D2 O* H* J2 ^! u- I' H
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. - m$ t) M- {+ e) ?% O7 g1 o1 q- R& F! s& r* c4 ?
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.8 y+ a6 [% x% U
) m% B; o8 z5 K2 D. O: s3 F* r"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. % F0 z3 S( U, n$ z $ O% ~) R W2 T1 _' j9 V+ 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. : D" A0 r" D* q8 F) Y5 i4 l
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. / G, W, |. y+ O& D O
6 |$ S6 l6 A3 N, }4 I# XMeanwhile 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. - L3 f" u; `: u 4 L4 W1 F4 K1 Q& BDuring 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. 7 T% u# x, ?9 j @; F - G( c9 t) Q: P7 U D: G( OBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. - l4 `+ R! Z" ^1 W( {; \, Q( T" {; F& ~ E6 z; }4 [2 E& D
"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 k" O0 u3 K* A: m
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"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. 7 i1 k$ B8 |& ^ B. Q3 ` / K7 @2 q7 W h# }********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM