" H! A' n4 l6 n8 ?southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado : Q; e- n) [) ~7 i& y. V- N# d0 H0 y" X
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.7 T1 Y( h) ?$ u, k5 L( I
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*********************************************************** # H/ e. W1 V1 C7 G2 z! LResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado . B! F0 T0 E H" ]" F& Z
by: PAUL CHOI . a9 i! L& m5 Z+ P, b5 F1 j
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET* O' Z, P. L8 U; e3 a
- H& W8 ~/ Z0 I/ o & X1 A% b) g, l- x6 H1 `+ W, O. B1 ]9 _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.6 w* ~ @% }" T3 B
1 L4 w0 j; T* q$ _$ M5 w- b0 N0 TThe 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.3 }2 y' u3 i. y; 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. # T1 a) k: b0 ]/ I |. C* J/ U4 p" o1 j0 Y- S& x& G 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." + S! ] R9 Q5 L* u5 G5 g2 W$ S. p j) `/ b. R
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.3 A' g2 b9 T# K. V4 e# i
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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.. j6 v0 Q1 f% |6 K# @* H2 W) \8 f9 T
& ^* H9 ]$ j: X; \ e7 M" F* X9 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." * W7 Q( E. j; y8 E$ M% Q0 o1 Y! q9 t3 @; ^6 x8 F w8 `
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. % I2 z7 i( B3 F% R9 q; q/ _, v9 P
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. * [- T& s' v6 @4 z7 Q% f& l; k 2 Q: o/ S* C) L4 }4 B$ Z) [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." : [. R' N9 b" S0 e ! [! x8 s: T. I; y7 KFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. ! i% K6 [! v, z ~1 B3 z( Q# EThey 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 R8 F1 J1 Z" z8 T7 b* [ V) S 0 ]# A. ?1 `; i) Y" c8 }9 ^. j"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 1 z6 E- v2 P! J& Q8 }3 Z- X0 l 1 w/ E! S2 ^7 ~4 U4 N$ s/ f0 zOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 5 d- W# o8 r8 h7 M+ D5 U# A $ [% h0 O, q" FAided 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. 8 @& D% i$ X' f- p6 G, G 0 J6 \5 R$ V, D" k; t/ fCoulson 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. 2 N4 ` V! K: E# G' J0 ?; S H2 v" B
"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.1 |. b& g/ x( T* j# r3 s8 m
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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. $ ~" r# }2 t' d1 D) B; X! s 4 {! U; u! I/ {- c$ G* u$ _6 DThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. - K& s: K I0 L3 J: ^4 I0 S7 ?: J
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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. 0 x5 {' w; `% g1 [3 M
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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. O$ T( i) M+ c
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 2 A6 F3 }! J. ~% h
( M+ i+ z4 @! v9 W"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. 4 q: _* o u; ? - H: E* s6 E3 m/ U. I; k, @"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./ p: T, f; Z P+ W
V* S% A1 p+ g********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM