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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. & P1 s8 @2 h+ X1 v7 S7 |7 W1 b, y3 W1 Q
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*********************************************************** ' H. f" F+ Z( U9 l N Y2 JResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado ! z0 M' v$ B: ^) j, m
by: PAUL CHOI 2 s* n7 X( x. z" _% `) [Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET) C' J; Q4 u& `. N3 y
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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. # u( i5 K8 P+ w8 T( ` 9 r+ {2 `* q& T! c u) N) q1 {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. ' w$ h1 M% m x" p9 E7 d% {& \) g9 ]8 X# h
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.0 E0 D) v, x( {6 g& h: j1 U
0 S, s9 E: V+ \$ 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." 8 p# g( s4 E6 j8 m* @% S# v9 y4 U* F; f/ o0 k2 P: M" i
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. 3 f, G- t2 U" _4 l' K 0 R6 ^9 O2 U$ q$ X- PElsewhere 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.5 l- ^7 j2 k; Z* Q9 K5 O D3 m N
, B5 a) A `, z: H"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 e- q* ]2 c8 E& `5 F: _0 { 0 f7 q- p( I7 e+ @0 _5 M f9 {6 D; MOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. . D. p6 `) b0 _5 ^& j$ ^* Q ) y1 o7 y5 B! YAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.3 \5 c: e5 P+ I/ b' ?
2 `5 p$ K2 }9 r& P"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."4 u% b3 @4 L& o" i6 t" |
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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+ f% {1 f0 a5 L* i: g- m 7 p! x$ e& S4 I0 `+ ZThey 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 w7 Y% I, Y t1 W+ U% m) G
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" / H3 w: R& \; _7 x5 k$ o% l" D, t5 l
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.. H6 H& y8 }! @! G
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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.6 O1 `/ t* v ?9 M4 {
- B0 z3 E6 j' b) N9 UCoulson 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. # N$ V4 Z4 q0 S) o$ M8 w/ [ 1 u" Y1 I/ D& |' K& k/ |2 E! J"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.: S* q; A+ C$ [9 R
) k; ]+ z4 \- X a) n0 n) R$ B. H3 MDue 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. 1 G; ^4 S+ g L9 q3 @1 P s. N6 _' E/ F+ a: Y
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. + V9 x. ? T; g6 M6 f2 H3 t
! l# S0 \9 H/ @& {1 D) @2 sMeanwhile 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. # ]1 g! G% }( ?1 S, b7 \1 _3 S
9 A, a$ ~6 {* t. H) R6 ?6 o) `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. E# F5 l8 M0 l/ g$ A8 c' `
# v1 |9 u0 P1 x$ v C5 Y+ A' IBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ! @ O" N! R$ U9 F- R) J8 I
! ?* O: j6 g6 q"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. / \7 w4 A; G( G5 n) I
2 B) E; R$ ^; i* S: n) 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. 4 | ^' w" B5 F$ w, a; T/ S, b& n# u
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM