" U1 W6 D# J1 w: _southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado ! e: B9 a, C/ P' a% | + z# U4 M# y# j8 `, o/ ~, # ^# Z, d; B2 Z' e & Z& Z" ~0 s7 h) D' A6 h; |the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. ; W }5 p! |, B" p; n- x6 r, p5 ? M( W5 J, C/ B8 j
r5 p' ^* q, f. U*********************************************************** 1 s$ G; S! B- F, d# uResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 6 y0 w( t: {! }' oby: PAUL CHOI & C, N# i3 L3 W
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET! e/ [9 w/ e4 G3 U g
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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. 2 z9 A+ a" j& q& n ' w5 O$ T" _0 E/ FThe 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. $ ?' M" X& R1 |" q1 d5 {8 v7 n% {, S . ~8 r! J3 e1 u7 I* BIt 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. I9 g) O2 h* X1 K: \ 5 B2 s4 x( ?/ s: N! o1 l"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." 1 A% u6 Y1 s2 l+ X/ k - r! i/ |* I) z: g$ dA 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.% K6 `4 g& I' l* U5 n
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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.* H# ?0 p; j# g* V: R8 t, ?, {
L' c2 U$ w& u"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." ' _) M& C( S+ h' Z! \1 ^. {: n8 \/ y
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.8 Q, c: c5 o0 B5 o0 n9 ^8 Q
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ C2 E; K. D ~3 B, [3 G$ N0 Z
! h5 M8 C6 W; o, C) U"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' w/ M C% t) Y: e% Z. T9 P% p: S2 W- U, ?* I
Fergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. 4 N, O* G0 h9 S" M' D) L 4 W- K1 `( F4 |4 d2 |- q! r% m6 W8 u/ @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.2 V/ o% _. y% ]' A' F
: A* B8 g+ i: h# o& X- l"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" . K- c$ L) U8 G9 p4 H 3 F% b# E7 ?5 \* U8 X& }; `$ iOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.* p( o/ u9 J& k) ]
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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.' t0 v s0 H( L( O. q, G' D
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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. 6 G0 Y, M2 J6 K) q) u! a7 ]4 l3 H- t" J5 z
"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.: N- g$ a. v- ~2 L. C
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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. 8 j, I; {, W$ N% G t+ P% I 3 ~3 D& c) J) A9 J" yThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ; q y" p: I1 f2 c! i! Q5 s1 p
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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. ) @+ h% d% o! f' Y) q% W/ _ g% L$ A4 c% F" c' }
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. , g; r1 `8 c* E : x8 s6 D9 H4 o: l' ]# i9 |But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. - f8 a/ t$ x3 c2 [* S 4 c+ r* V z+ C1 P; x0 |"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. 6 V, S7 `# y' R" P7 ], i' f6 \2 F$ R
"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. 6 l0 r$ E" u8 V1 j0 v ! j2 y$ L* V! q1 y1 D********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM