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. D1 J; h I2 I# Lthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 6 S4 G) U/ | {# j8 ?2 |/ I" n6 ~0 y/ Y; U
) l8 o/ ~1 W& Y; ]$ c. S# e2 S***********************************************************# D( K7 n/ }% n- x! Q8 y! W Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ; u: n' p( \; x/ i* @( b2 Wby: PAUL CHOI - K# ~) U( ?% j7 |4 XSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET1 n% O i4 c; G% Y8 Y @" f
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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.8 t; F0 U3 J4 i
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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.$ Q& U' j0 j" f. U
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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. 6 W; a1 m y1 C8 ], w) [. u9 K! \+ b7 K5 N
"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 j0 j; t: u) g. E1 F2 f 1 f. Q1 [6 e0 a% O2 y7 _8 ?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.& l# i- w h) |" g% ^
) Q* j7 d8 |+ ?0 S+ RElsewhere 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.* E+ ]9 f3 O- G s! E% M
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"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." 7 e% w" T& j1 r/ T3 ~ |' a- n' z" S' @' o4 C. ?
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. x5 t* y" W$ h0 m' \/ f1 l1 U: p& [/ r" c8 f9 x" i* [2 D1 C
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ( }6 z i- T# S9 X1 M1 o4 D5 a, n$ o# t- c& U( j
"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." 8 f: ?" f* I& y; i7 D' V. B- @0 h/ r+ b, Q) @8 i: z7 o/ C* n% t- p7 v
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. d* W) v. f9 j8 N% v" g- c* ~: d, Y' @
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. 7 F! t, p* f- ^% m0 B- @ ( \$ m! Y6 w0 F, V8 o"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" , G8 E1 w4 c. S, C/ n0 f2 x& G, T5 ]% d
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.1 F' B$ C5 J( q+ q# V( Z' i, r5 A
; W: F+ G' `7 J ZAided 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.8 n- F2 Y7 ?6 m& i: c5 P% ^
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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.( [3 O" H9 `0 p$ r3 F4 R8 D8 Z8 p+ N, E
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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.; O2 A" e- j0 D
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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. - s- v: }9 \- x6 o; h8 V4 ^+ I. e/ B1 A# e7 i$ e! s
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 3 t% s, q3 Q6 q# _9 R/ {1 t/ m1 l. R+ ?& o/ y
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. 8 U3 E& a9 X4 l2 u# ^1 J# N ( }& V/ e4 K% y5 hDuring 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. ; h3 E( K- c! \7 Z/ N+ J: X( f' t1 t2 ~5 M& \
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ; f$ V. W# y* z1 d" ?0 W; y. w! o+ D+ r: T
"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; g i1 {0 v8 E 9 [% x6 `" e! Z( U- A% b; q"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. 7 A5 C0 Y- {2 \& |" H4 x; w5 N4 I6 [( R$ D' S
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM