/ |6 ?- F ]% c2 E5 Q- ]southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado7 p/ W# j7 Y3 ^, l) _
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.: c/ T0 Y6 T: k/ A2 s8 c- H
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5 I& f5 H4 {( |' @, @( `***********************************************************' p' ~ `3 ?/ |: w( U- ^ Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 2 J, U$ Z, k H( Q r: d# y1 tby: PAUL CHOI 4 w/ K: ?& n6 v' \% Y& nSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 9 v3 ?! H6 ~( _( V, F1 r E. C+ f* v c' G9 ]7 V0 X
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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." S' L, L1 q% ~3 l( F# c& q
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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. % `6 a& ]) H* H7 j! `! v5 f3 C, a0 T; h
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.. U& A3 ?" ^/ X/ T2 G! l4 p- J
3 D1 J: f, |7 o F& b"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 F/ y1 j7 a: o% K( U4 M6 l% I7 `4 b, u3 g) O; @( [
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. ) N, x7 }% E2 b, ^7 `$ l $ ?6 ]3 k+ K3 ?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. $ l7 t- w' y' M5 s " O4 b, B! i' [' g0 A6 \0 b"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." - T- l" a' @' \5 b4 f0 q a$ m2 `* b& }, n, J. q
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. " P8 Z% C. w+ C: e7 E9 D . L9 `0 ~. L" T% y% ?3 kAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 3 J! h. g! u+ x3 G' Z- m! b / A0 s, x4 X* A: Q2 F' ?"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.") b6 F; `9 u6 ^: D
0 ^1 w' o# S. a0 P) gFergus 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: |5 \1 F* W6 U
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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. ) N3 L4 e1 N( \3 S( j$ x% X& d5 ?8 Q( W. h
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"! V" \4 \) }/ d$ ?
* r' j! G" f% ^* V$ COfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. / V3 Q E/ ~$ Z0 Z; ` ) t5 A( r5 N1 ~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. + e; X9 G4 F1 }$ n7 ?; m1 s3 B8 {- [) r% {/ F* V; x1 t
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. 7 s1 [8 _( C) G' j4 @ + p+ x% y2 g* v, Q* 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.% ^( D2 ^" o- W3 A- ?$ N3 X: u
3 V _ x) {2 k: T& lDue 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. / O3 z, S! {3 r3 N: ?) ?
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. / `2 f( A# T3 |4 ~% }
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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. % C6 P- E% |8 f% u- n3 x: e! T* f# `8 g" S/ ]3 P
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. * a2 W7 d& H5 P9 C2 ^! m; d / M8 _3 T& c* L/ E; ]7 @But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , [. s& C8 p; P" K! I# G" i$ L
0 Z- y% w/ d# N' 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. 8 U c: c+ u- A5 x s1 o/ [. _+ s0 w2 E6 W" x" \- M# Z3 Z/ t
"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. " A- {5 M: l, u9 ~7 O; A) E/ y& c 8 d% z9 O2 ^" ]0 b) W. ]& ]********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM