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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. * [6 X1 ^6 }4 K# U# x C8 g" p' L) M/ J+ @. u
! u( s2 {5 M9 ~$ J*********************************************************** ; u) @5 j% z$ A/ `Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 1 o: R4 }: ]( j
by: PAUL CHOI " [; x) V! N4 vSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET( G/ D( p' M7 c' 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. . A4 h" T5 o. z3 b . J( @" n6 Z# d( cThe 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.* Z" H0 l' I' Y+ H% R2 x& |( d
0 w* ^# S! j- z6 ~; Y) N# tIt 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.8 r1 a" V2 s8 {! @# @' P9 Q
* u" ^/ R; f/ ^8 ~7 K1 H, j& b! I"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% I, s8 B; h& I+ F s5 z+ @% h+ ?
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. ! w4 f# n# v6 X/ A6 L9 R! G& c" ]" N: X+ V2 {
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. * }4 g; g- E: M0 N% [! P8 i" o- X; a6 n: `) d$ ~5 r& i+ D7 F
"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." ) e- u' Z9 C* o/ J7 c* a) U& T# X0 \% H% M. _ M
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.& m7 h* ]- p/ V2 o. e2 h2 A7 }# C4 w
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ; j# J6 b) A& @/ e1 |" g$ B" p6 |7 q3 R- s- p% e
"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." . A0 S4 O9 H9 N% L5 d( ]$ a: H, M$ W/ }( F
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.( ^' U- G9 k; J$ S' K' 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.4 Q, x. n4 N2 n) \4 x$ C) H
! |* E5 Y1 L2 u. X# P"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"" G+ X2 o4 U" G) K9 r
5 n! g; L7 @& b' `" j. vOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. U0 A5 ^7 n! W- d* U 9 e# q8 M+ Z" _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. ; k& g8 T7 r4 w; M" G7 H; ^. X& z/ C! L$ o
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 T$ z! |, c% o; U( }
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"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.+ ]& I: W0 A2 p* i% 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. , T; b, M' k( m& |5 }5 B
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ) b3 n/ ^' j; ]5 ?: K ( N: D. R3 |# c$ L' tMeanwhile 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. ! I1 r! o4 ?2 q9 R1 S( Y( B ! z& Z e& c( H0 ^. f9 C& S( SDuring 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. % e5 x7 l( H; Y6 i% K 4 `/ J3 H, \# B" C" FBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 A$ w! Q# |- E/ P
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"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. - S" @: }0 l0 S+ h- M, S5 Y/ o# \* v2 ?* ]
"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. ! h1 M$ b2 n1 D6 Z3 q3 v: k# \ [0 t. H8 u$ p; ^( `
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM