" u/ F6 r* L4 ysouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado% |- Y ~0 W0 f
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, 0 J, R( l3 }& u( N+ c+ E6 N3 f - b+ m7 e, N1 C |: nthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. , t" Y5 Q2 X7 N* e7 r* b2 ~6 m" v) d* O6 M1 D* v2 \
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*********************************************************** 6 G9 E; I. f9 M i# P+ SResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado % ?$ O3 N* S2 N) \: H4 L
by: PAUL CHOI 3 k9 e) ~3 z/ ^: }Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 6 U1 _6 c( f0 o, a5 z: m! c! L5 n K, q1 E# A: V6 I8 E; H
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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.. w. w$ M0 h7 I3 w
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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. + N* f5 k, U( i( P6 Z, o/ Y, K* i e4 ?2 v) y7 {
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. + x$ u2 u! D+ n( k f k : L* E) d+ R( j' r% n" y8 e. I& u"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.", Y/ ~* M; K$ p& { Z
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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. 4 |" I" H6 a7 E5 j) o9 e5 s/ Y6 Y0 m" r7 ~1 i: X$ K: q5 T
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. 6 p- M: w* u8 _2 f" a - o; ?% Y0 p; Y+ L9 M7 S"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.". ?3 C) i) s; i
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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. ) t1 p' Y% i2 `- \8 W+ m : @- n" I; Q9 h \: |# Q& IAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 7 j5 E1 ^ s! S( n O+ {8 r) ~/ P* | % @& ]3 G. p8 C* ["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."0 }) l. h u9 v7 I. u* x" z
" y9 _7 p% I9 ~ G5 f; Y7 nFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. 0 S$ l3 E( B3 s9 Y& i0 s3 h+ W9 T: `. Y. s/ Z9 z
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 i* z# ~9 Z/ q
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" / P: U, c) B+ }% K# L5 f; E* N# R5 {+ Q/ ~2 H
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 0 E, C6 o" s# P/ z6 i9 D5 C( y0 U- ]5 ~5 ^: O \
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.5 K2 d$ L* O, Q& ?
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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. 9 ~( J) M( U* N4 k( ~! ~$ \7 W# F( e% @) |
"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 h0 @0 G4 t6 A( ^' r j
" G$ ~, p. z7 e1 |; w4 ZDue 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. ; r6 C5 C9 Y6 L) q, H6 Q 1 b& a( B6 x, _: r: y: KThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ) F [$ f, ?; o# O- Q; h1 j; Z" J
6 l! S1 `' n4 o. {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. $ {( |& U# c; k8 g2 h- Y6 A( K6 s! y
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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. ' o0 U6 T% [' { X
9 b+ N6 v( T& `But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 4 S8 Z5 ^; @1 B
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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. - j3 f# \$ o9 n( Y, c- @5 @8 x. a4 |
. t. m4 C0 j- f# l# L7 l"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. ) O, N9 p" j0 i. M: w I( m. ]" [5 ]$ i5 B
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM