! v* C) `4 U* V8 S: t! [http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_flood_050819.jpg& q5 S# d7 J# I8 w8 T3 g4 Y
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southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado6 c6 c/ B! x8 ^4 U6 Z3 @. c
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. $ l) J9 M8 ]) k& D: J& p# X: _1 d. J
) [5 d! u$ a$ h4 m*********************************************************** 5 f U0 N( X. O: h$ l hResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 6 k t/ V: q$ W7 }by: PAUL CHOI / Y* B5 r7 a' d( |7 g c& [Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 7 i$ @& |# h4 E& O7 h $ H7 F v7 W2 ~ + i2 a0 K2 J. b' {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. ) K7 ]0 Z. T% K! U4 t9 B; G, `, m3 G% E
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.6 E8 D* K# d% h- y0 a/ K. l% |! r+ Q
2 ]: ?8 D* Y7 p2 V- ZIt 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. : X3 W; N6 _# l2 R, S- ^+ G! K5 s- e8 S0 |) } }% }2 |3 x
"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." * Z* w, g& C6 w! b- H6 K 2 ?' F. A5 ~9 E* y( u0 RA 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.- A# E6 X# o' Q& D/ @) W# l* ~' O
$ i2 d4 y. D8 s% L) ~$ E, t. w4 b8 b! iElsewhere 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. ! Y* U) _# P- } 1 F* F3 O* \0 B8 I- l3 M"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."( A9 C8 O6 ` G7 C1 p" l. H7 A
! A E, `7 o& R* Y' kOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 2 Q& }* z8 ^% m! @ , j! I+ n% G. A V6 uAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.9 v' O0 u M- o
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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." G6 D! [: n8 P2 ]/ s% S3 U2 S2 z7 z! }. U& P- @) \( t% o
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. , X: K9 X0 m/ ]$ i% d! h 3 H9 D$ n! P. h% 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.5 c8 r8 O, e9 Y7 V
7 N& a7 @5 b5 g"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"/ H1 r0 [4 [; o* q8 J; ~
' G% H1 d* K) mOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.5 b% R! ?4 w* W# Q" q. p; l) }
( p2 Y- v0 T4 |- I, KAided 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. 0 Y9 L$ U6 x8 M) h% R2 u; B7 \$ e: c8 ?" x( T) G. U4 @
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. & Y9 k2 A$ O9 o. g& ]6 y3 {6 C/ k
"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. ! k: v y) x- v # u+ x6 f7 D; E Q$ R& nDue 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. " G* f- h' k. d" f/ O& t
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 7 e9 ^; N: q/ \ , h9 i7 l) t/ fMeanwhile 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. 7 i+ ~4 M7 B3 ^5 k6 F1 ~) x( z3 {0 p% R! e# G* v: ~
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. . [. X( D+ s- y+ ?4 p9 ~$ E/ n# Z% [. Q) h
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. $ L3 Y" ~/ p9 d! `0 g; G 5 t: d. }. e% M+ P! I$ H/ ^/ x3 O" l% z"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. |2 a/ u4 k3 K# E
$ S3 }4 n1 K! p0 K1 l% b"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. b' M8 A6 v: l8 h7 I) y* h2 O5 d4 V% l% J1 B6 n+ ]
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM