% ~. ]/ K5 V1 S1 i4 J9 ahttp://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_flood_050819.jpg 6 J7 \/ E% Y# @ 0 X5 h' C3 t$ G7 M4 C, G) p2 J+ ~southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado9 ?. ~2 |% ~' R( @4 K
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 4 c, [6 u, L' {) {( b ! [9 r, L1 Q5 [' r8 u$ p. }0 `' z& s; d# a" \+ M4 M- V# P
*********************************************************** 0 B" u% v; r4 P* \- TResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado $ d9 }% Q- b" b7 y
by: PAUL CHOI ! m+ O+ }( D2 z# l2 @2 Y
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET9 Z" J C) o# w' v% A) L" O
' N2 E; _2 L$ t7 p' {4 z# A' m2 T 5 T2 J& x8 s* TTORONTO (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 q1 T6 g- q8 L' o+ B+ o' s! O9 Y0 a
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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.! ^4 g8 m; e/ n" ~! F0 I! I$ e. p! E8 s7 H
% j6 p% D$ b, e& K$ K6 @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. ( [+ `% U$ `4 k0 q7 ` i! x; n2 P8 ~9 @$ I/ G' a, a( ]7 |2 ~& ^& ^
"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." ! B& J9 K8 ?9 P V0 u$ B8 k7 r+ b, f# w( ?5 U9 T$ a
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. - x( ]/ W4 L- r% \& b, A* q- |8 p! E( Y" I* t3 I
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.6 b' y6 f% M9 U" ~
( l' C. N# j" I. ]3 I"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." - J) f% p2 U% b 4 I' ~2 Y0 F4 `. Y5 sOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. * _: q- Z/ l$ v! ~9 N! b6 r+ U; E7 ` # G/ s, C4 L0 l3 H/ S& N7 ~! OAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 2 p5 J. r- P9 C L5 p, ]+ T4 T0 ` 7 F7 P: v3 a! O" J. x" x"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."" {. r4 O& o+ K( I+ C
' m; f! b; C' M5 S: p6 b, aFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. . h. H& \, ^+ i( I& R $ K8 o* q9 X, W9 B; E G/ ]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.! T3 m( d/ `8 k. @
! U# ]7 c( N5 K J$ j! y* I"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 2 u9 G( d% d* \) u2 c* c2 N5 g6 v9 i+ y' ^0 P
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.& P; y- e3 M( j2 N7 B
- ^6 ^) h$ x+ J) K% E7 j4 d( r) k2 dAided 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 _1 J) Q1 I5 Z! B }9 v6 D( t! R7 u z9 j( g. q
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. % E. z$ g4 E/ g, |' u8 H/ P7 k2 Y2 a: @
"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. , \; [ F# \% k& a0 E; e( D$ ] R; P2 `& F# r& q4 Y
Due 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. $ B$ {$ ^, ^9 f- _1 |; E3 A8 [2 M# Q# V# b. g1 a
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. : F" Z R+ ~; }5 ~& @
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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. , L: V5 i3 Q' z7 ~* q6 [8 g2 O - y/ U1 C" r1 XDuring 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. / J' o. {5 S. o% `$ |1 d3 L' H m1 I% r0 [0 D3 y/ d% N. ?2 }3 fBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. . p8 t, |8 L# g8 ^, s 3 I* M; y+ ]$ O: q- l4 Z1 Z! ]8 L"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 b% u$ O8 ]: E1 D# W) o; t4 K
& v S1 {# B/ {* N"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.. `* o4 R C, r! x: M
! K' A# {) j" i3 v- n2 P3 ^********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM