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thank you for the news, & ]8 g2 o% b9 ]$ Ki have some news from toronto too...9 u8 S" I0 r! Y) b9 F) C3 y; q
0 Z6 P6 S5 d, F) @3 b* z0 u***********************************************************% x4 {- B- ~8 {# c Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 8 p4 V! Z# M- S- `) ]; x4 t1 a7 e
by: PAUL CHOI 5 g/ N3 j# u! @3 d
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET + @) J% |6 A1 Z6 N5 X 6 s4 j9 S. L4 ]/ w1 D, a8 y1 I! l# G" i- J. [& v( ^. E
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.6 n. W- ?9 y: u
5 O2 q0 W; O4 S( v9 ]4 DThe 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.& {/ T8 K4 m( I% z9 i) R
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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. # I: M& h6 V. ~. v3 O5 W # l% H$ g' D! }! \"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! E4 ?; q& \7 v7 x
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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./ r- j' V6 ]% F7 P
( f; S Q: G1 H9 ~8 a0 G( h' W7 t3 p9 qElsewhere 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 G% i% g: {7 ~7 s$ [1 W, K3 @. [" l* G
"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."7 C* H( @* y1 b6 p
% O# g. J9 P( s3 o1 @On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.8 F. ]0 d! y6 e2 H! u; B
+ j/ u1 P: S; \' x9 h6 Q. sAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 8 P6 g6 y7 M+ _4 f& k( w4 A; M/ W6 r' m& B" t
"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."9 B7 U; M, r6 L
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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. j: J' K/ o9 k; V2 h$ E Q! v
9 @! U& Z8 V. u; S6 q9 j! ~, vThey 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.) M" p. K. c4 N) u7 p
: E2 a! r7 p, a# t1 ?/ Z"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" & ?& T; o' V. l; ]0 L+ y9 |% n1 j7 Z5 ?/ G* p8 C1 N5 T
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. , @8 i$ G6 M: T( h, t8 R2 m; E7 A' \' _) h |" g! Q
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. / c. [* z) s; M8 a4 h- w8 y- O & d+ H+ P7 T, R2 HCoulson 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. * l# _9 q0 O5 ~! u/ O0 ?+ i v$ N) n7 {# {1 N, B3 S) d
"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. 5 q, r' d! C# w# C" O4 p6 T8 H M* Y. O$ o. o K8 {% N
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. # E5 S0 n# }0 G) W& Q0 q- G. Q
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 u. Y! [ R0 k0 R9 x+ i
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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. " {; J7 h1 m. X" s
, g+ }% {. |; F) [. bDuring 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. 1 B2 T3 X, g# q1 d" t! C4 F! `# m1 a0 `# }+ q/ J7 S5 N r2 [
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ' Q1 y9 R: G% z- h3 Z" M
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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. 0 [8 ]$ _3 R) C5 u' h$ Z4 N6 [ 1 d- }' ?$ s5 x, C"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. 6 d+ `8 x2 p0 G# p! w : V' w [- w) ^3 e* N, F+ G********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM