) C* U6 t6 Q* E y7 E2 p3 y2 l$ V, + G' M6 c" G8 @6 z. E7 g - c3 c! k3 y7 Z% S: Nthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. " U0 H" A* u% x; a, t+ I5 q" M7 E h! }7 G$ A H* N7 f
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*********************************************************** 6 y: L! z9 f2 E5 vResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 7 M% E8 S' s- n1 `# o" J! g L
by: PAUL CHOI 3 h/ K* Y/ g( S: l+ Z* D# i+ U
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET - n' O2 G( b ]( z% n0 A, u+ ^/ o1 T9 r, c6 `# ?3 f
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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. & l0 \, A0 M( J0 P% q/ _ S+ T3 {5 N& Y) X- g
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.* @3 M% Z; V% S9 S
$ S' K% t! Z S! o4 g4 GIt 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 x% C" c( R+ W5 C4 r: f% H 3 ]! N; i, W4 ^7 T"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." ( w+ H( Q. n# }9 a5 }" o7 A% ?4 {! M9 V
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.: Z4 ^4 Q/ a+ x0 a
; k5 Q2 X6 }( e3 }# CElsewhere 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. 7 p; U* _( r7 B$ n! M. r. B2 h9 w2 N7 Y7 a; W) P- G5 d
"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 ]9 p0 {+ S2 y, ]4 A0 z
0 _/ f0 }3 T( l& ^3 g6 {On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.4 t# S3 Q2 }6 D1 o* w
' L3 `+ Y& b8 v4 gAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. , b' S$ {8 S) ^ A& _9 q5 v& e' K% R/ Z1 m8 Y& u7 N: C8 E8 O
"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."- w5 Y5 g5 ^6 {
) t' }" X' K$ {4 S+ `; n% MFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.- n* M! S! s$ `: D+ ^0 j
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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. 6 }, c* h4 I+ Y) v8 c5 }: i' U) a$ C0 e. @3 T
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"9 X' j8 q: L4 B! i
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.0 P' [8 ]9 x0 w2 w% w! ?' }
- C! Z) K* X. L/ a5 e6 }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. 8 z! S$ d6 W1 u( e8 P/ v' i) a& w1 O8 P
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.' f8 e3 Q6 Z0 }9 O5 C
! Y J& v- w7 f1 E( E4 [- W"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. 9 w/ o% T! A& ~5 s4 i 3 w9 Q: E6 |) w6 @1 c1 C/ 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. # S S0 q% l& u4 N 6 J$ J. Q6 I. B9 c) R$ XThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. * U& U3 T0 B; N
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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. ' A" L3 o, D9 A) G5 ^& x' k7 p: S3 B1 m! a; ]7 ~* Q5 p
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. 2 c: Y5 d. C' K! e3 D- T% |; M- ?3 Z$ a; B1 W i
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. " g P- F$ T4 r, O- M; I& L# i) D' B/ u
"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. : r( m- P$ y X: F8 _$ N2 W
+ W' P0 Q& j ]. t9 G"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. ; Y6 S4 r: C, n I( V ( Y j- }0 E; M9 x& S/ N********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM