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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.+ k+ D- O4 D$ X. f/ T+ |0 g1 t
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*********************************************************** 9 Q" r/ @0 ]5 k* E8 y, s# `Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado / ~9 i/ S& \ B8 s( Q+ j- R5 oby: PAUL CHOI 8 Y C3 }# }' E' Q6 v
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 5 O! ~2 l0 ]+ P+ c" o4 p$ v3 I% t' F. \1 L0 n7 q
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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.5 s: Y/ k L: I
* v4 @8 G' E% M5 l+ h7 H% jThe 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. * @0 G* z. s; Y% o6 `3 V; U3 z& }: E g2 ~
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. + O" z9 B7 M- o/ [+ ]. Z) {7 A. }; r. {4 O. z5 a
"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." & `( ?6 D: V8 k5 [/ ?, ] y; U! K8 f9 e; h, L4 I3 {: K$ w
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./ |2 g1 D" z! o5 \
7 t/ p/ w8 E& V; I+ j" y7 Q% zElsewhere 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 k) X5 ]6 T' C: K. j
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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." 4 ~( U! p4 @9 l5 x \7 m# ?! a5 Q0 L2 D B+ o D
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.% B0 D9 r$ K2 y4 g+ O+ E7 g
$ j0 _ E7 i" _) sAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ q8 |' u5 A" _% B* F9 ~
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"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." 7 ]) I0 A; A1 L- m b) ]5 t$ q9 g 6 ]& P4 K* V: g) R$ H7 P" e) {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.0 _1 h6 u# _+ q/ x) Q; @8 I, B
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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.& Q+ f& k/ N: \" H
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" ' D. ?( ]# U) w! D4 @" a3 h. o5 T8 f# D9 J
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. + F& K& f' H: x( c' G7 i: n5 O1 j, x, ~4 F# k# T, t
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.( ~% v$ ^* S: B
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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.- o5 G0 D. \0 K2 H& I! b
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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.; T; Y& r) y! q& c3 i; J
6 [$ w2 Q3 ^9 ~ i! p6 qDue 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. . a4 C5 K2 M% q, s' w' l
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. $ ]# G1 o) s. I7 O: T1 F) ?: p" v0 z* w# a' R$ N
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. # }% n: u3 Z+ I) @
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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. 0 ?( A7 ?, J' U6 [* U
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ( i& x. R7 `9 _: c5 m: n+ F6 @: P3 d* ~2 G9 I7 P6 H. y6 C
"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. ) \+ [; x9 a/ z5 y" w
% i& i$ I6 Z$ T; p3 S) A h" f"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. 2 u, q/ O& z! k2 s& s - V& Y4 ^3 q6 q* d( O********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM