: H; e5 N) Q( \; L$ @6 {2 Athe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. - ?- M8 \% y @+ `8 }, e0 {. P1 r# s$ k; q
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*********************************************************** o, B4 I, R0 C9 n2 C; C% \Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 9 J m2 w, E/ G/ kby: PAUL CHOI ( b: n6 [. ~) F3 _+ v aSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 6 v1 T' S1 t; H$ |& h! G- q: x1 x% I- M4 D6 R- M7 N9 J( N- W
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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.% l" x G( K7 w9 U
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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.; W7 G6 ?5 S# e0 S
4 E- P+ a( s$ b4 D; F% X9 dIt 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. / U- ?; b" k* l0 [5 ?: `" A5 R4 u - W2 V+ K3 \: K; I) H p1 b$ p"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." : V+ @, y6 q0 t; _, _- k8 H' J1 }! A/ _7 _7 R7 E) T0 z/ 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. ; `" g; C: ?9 h6 N) B0 i3 Y9 K8 I+ `1 |$ \/ E2 k1 F7 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.# H* p( \& e% `$ H/ r$ A
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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." + u! u1 |# [- i) G% C, d, l" L3 |' s+ l2 v4 _; l
On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.) q/ b) o$ u( D- P. l2 A2 c
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ; Z& P8 H& U0 d }( W3 D, o2 x5 o9 |/ U; W
"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." 2 u8 K. l% ?( k% ?1 q+ R$ t2 `: X3 f% | T
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. & \$ w2 l- r3 b3 D) }4 F0 N4 y4 [ - u7 S' `* x" d; O6 o' X$ ~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.; s' n: j2 o& c8 {4 S
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 0 e; t* t* n! e0 C) N. q6 [ 4 l7 g) w z) {6 b6 F& Y, cOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 0 V7 T4 L- P7 P U/ O ) X: Z q: P% P, z# j1 NAided 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. 1 p4 Z: ?' S6 h/ x M9 ^& D7 T1 d$ @6 l) x( I m* e8 L. _
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. n/ b9 s X: j0 f # J2 f1 I* _+ b. o' A4 U"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.$ U& D* \6 `& |$ z' I
' q# H4 ]7 P9 U$ A+ hDue 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. ( e- X' T& y9 J: P: m" U9 V: g( ~
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 2 T4 C! B. ^. l0 M
7 `# g( S; s1 N! z3 O" o- s6 aMeanwhile 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. " g- j r7 F3 V6 J, T& A" N3 @( c$ L! t2 Y; ?0 o: e
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. " t. y5 E( K9 C# f+ X- `
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , j' T2 q, P8 f8 m8 Y8 [
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"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. # Y; E) W; n2 {+ H* {: Z
, [( j& U; c0 x b& S2 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. $ T _. ^2 f m1 w. I* u; y5 i3 D5 W" K
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM