; E4 [$ ?2 q; U) I! w) g*********************************************************** ; q- p, A- Q8 X/ R. d/ F1 DResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ( M+ B& W+ Q8 h z4 n9 r7 F! l4 \
by: PAUL CHOI * e4 z( @$ F7 b+ W, ? FSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ) L5 \( W: R5 i1 u' I, O* n" K) y/ Z% D! z0 p" u* s
! u! _1 ^# |4 X; q% ITORONTO (CP) - Residents of southwestern Ontario were picking up the pieces Saturday, and in some cases waiting for the power to be turned on, after a tornado touched down during a stampede of fierce storms a day earlier. 9 _8 @1 P+ r" E3 \) U, a+ [ 7 i: F- y/ @! E: Y' IThe 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.; r2 }, I) d0 [6 o: V, Z
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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.* ]( Y2 w8 F6 |' w
2 j2 B; g- Z0 Q7 p- H; t/ L5 `"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."! }0 u6 {$ | W8 Q
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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.5 U' t V. Q2 H1 l9 P
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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. 7 ^& E4 s+ M0 ^( U9 R* ]6 e7 g0 H3 d3 S2 q# \
"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." 6 y. _8 T1 ]* i4 Y2 u% k4 ?6 u' U4 H* o8 B+ ?" v: w/ u
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. ) r: U* x) K/ u K5 w3 k$ K7 } s8 J* g" w3 n uAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.9 o5 ^! U% n# ~- k& `( C. \
: H- o# ]- H6 `- i/ @"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." ' X; ?! [: X3 b; }, }1 ~2 Q* l- Y8 L& ]3 U4 m7 S2 J
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. - A5 `1 E- ]; w: V+ ~" s0 a. a 0 w; {" Z) g8 g9 [0 [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.# @) X. V4 Q- p# @; F2 C
: x1 K+ Y/ t" y9 Q& r"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" . ?5 a! D( h ?1 [* D8 \, A9 c; e 0 H2 y% V5 V# f _Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. $ o* v! a+ r/ \! _' A1 n. _- ?" w
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. 9 g) q8 \8 {" T3 e1 s# u 6 b# p5 k/ n9 O" b: q# V% 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.( }. Q1 f! K e. y# n
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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. 0 N+ P# A) e L3 a2 a3 ~7 a5 C% m7 b$ H+ i' C
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. - T5 S6 `' I3 r8 p/ V% b
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. # M4 A! m8 z$ |# U+ S/ r
, q& y8 u, O5 dMeanwhile 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. # I0 t/ q' I2 c( Q/ S* ? 2 y5 a* ~3 L4 S; J( i/ H9 _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. 8 z6 ~( v5 Y% [/ R9 ]
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. . D3 p* B4 o2 G7 Y
' D& ]! [. |6 c; t9 f5 s! F3 Y"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. 9 @' \" V5 M" n9 V% n4 ?; M$ i3 A3 s* _& ^/ M
"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.8 E9 U1 C& f& P3 n
% n/ d' \- H+ k1 j/ e E********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM