2 u/ |( \- z- G& K) Z3 U6 i! Rsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado / u4 J7 [. ^! E( e8 N+ b( n+ K0 F U1 O, \7 D# X) n7 u
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T7 w% Y; p- } ]the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. ( z( E9 i5 H" \; M& n : ?0 G9 g" Z6 Z5 b4 v" x3 O8 ?* D % I/ i' I: a8 [# M! X- p***********************************************************+ a; M5 l0 H' F0 D6 a Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado - p% l$ q2 t2 }. n9 F: \
by: PAUL CHOI 8 t/ ]; `* g8 R
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET , j) r& a9 d( N# p3 q+ z4 N- J& r, L6 i0 m, E8 a& k6 W- 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. 4 r; I; y8 ?2 G$ E & _, u+ ^6 P" E3 }# |1 u( G* ~: HThe 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.1 g" C4 y$ R8 v8 ~3 ^* M
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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. 3 W6 \" s7 R% @; _2 [5 u4 a9 k8 U* o , _' C% `! V, Z$ g"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."$ l4 R u; S& w
& Q( \ Q3 `1 I4 t$ @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. ) b: z& Q: U; W/ j, y! ^8 {$ j1 ^4 t& T7 c7 L+ j: Q3 J6 G* g
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. " n ~# J* h) g9 K) m% T4 O% z% r6 }4 O+ u
"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.", T" p! ~# k& @( l+ g/ A
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.+ W- y: Z3 b$ g$ ^( E, k7 C
. V1 O1 U( A! ~. |3 d: D+ cAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.: p. m& |" ]4 M+ ^/ p- t
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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."5 Z; S# `% B4 {
( T% X% F6 i- t9 k, HFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. i3 D+ o) A7 N% w* }9 c% w4 u7 a * s: Q& I. R5 t: H) bThey 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 E3 i4 _' L6 H
) ~+ d4 w2 h# h& [9 k$ K" J8 U8 K"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" ) ]* m% @# a9 N- i8 B% w9 A/ q% m# b+ u$ q) { M
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.' \, S/ n3 C* _; f; b+ [7 H' \8 |& 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. , c1 Q" y9 ^& Z9 Q8 y, Y6 \ ! Y/ p0 q7 O. `6 n- L4 S, G2 |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. 5 K+ Q2 o# Z' h- h8 V5 C$ |( ?1 f: D7 ^, d+ q
"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. ; v+ s$ E8 w7 G' B2 B6 ]# `6 X 0 d4 c& U" H! H: cDue 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. 0 P9 @8 D, {$ W* Y, v# Q
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 5 d5 f$ r6 ]+ {" W6 a
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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. 0 {7 F# s$ r2 Q6 ~5 |5 f8 n8 }# y m$ e2 V& `: J3 L9 ]0 P g
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. ' @) D+ Y' I- R
/ z, F+ `" S% ` S* FBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ' G- a' X* [; A4 O$ O! @7 U6 Z3 D; M# @
"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 L/ M! U1 T. ]- w, W 0 ]% [. Q; E8 }$ E- Y/ a"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 Z- ]) I1 t' b- M. i4 P $ [2 P( }8 U3 l+ S9 P. J2 h3 Z: O********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM