( N- W @! @" I* A8 Psouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado ; {' e$ I* O* x# U9 |: a; ~6 f/ r$ I2 W
, $ A, [% j1 J( D! i4 T 7 q3 u1 y) o; c1 [) o6 f. kthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.# }- F# }/ M2 z: e: C: }% u
+ g9 |0 x4 \$ I% S. k! h8 s 9 y a8 U! k6 u6 c***********************************************************% x$ t% B O/ h6 q Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 6 L: P# S5 H# I
by: PAUL CHOI 2 \5 l* S ]5 GSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET & O' }, `* t+ ]' w& [ / a/ d3 ?5 X* z/ M- ~, y( }4 i- W( N8 o: N: G5 g' Y
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.1 ]2 F3 [7 b. i& M
- @ G) x& w% U* H7 _ ^8 nThe 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. 7 Q9 P2 Y! F/ O9 e" M3 s1 I / I: A' g1 X! J1 A6 N) ZIt 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- f; W; y/ T0 c0 ^9 t: p! b
; J# t# {" U# Z" W1 ?"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." 4 H3 g7 Y7 p& D8 ~; x/ \6 ]. N% `* X! O. j1 m, {: ~
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. 9 K1 ]2 L) c2 M! P3 Y4 N6 x4 j( ~9 c4 n' V- p! s
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.% y+ b1 m' u% Y; k$ y4 f
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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." T1 V% g% v5 }$ a* Q( C$ h
; J! k7 m- M5 JOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.4 _3 @* \, H! j$ G' j6 z! q
" |: D: Z( i" dAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. , w e, C1 p- F& Z& B / t. z0 M) t7 F0 O% I) \"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."+ Y$ R5 `9 X" x' B1 a
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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.& Y5 R8 P ?" u5 {( E/ { q( b2 L* W
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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.9 ^* u" P' h ^6 r2 ~" I
k) B! f& |! u% k4 M7 d"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 9 G6 D9 f( W& s! R5 ~' }0 ]; L/ S/ G! Y1 { {
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.. o+ D( t6 X' s, u% H# v( T7 M2 k4 e3 |
% W" T, O8 H C0 @% L5 y; R5 lAided 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. 9 c5 q) q- ~# J4 o+ j. Y. X( w6 X5 c) j( ?2 v
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.1 }* i# O6 i9 w1 J* w v
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"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.) Q6 ]( H1 ^& [8 b
/ @. K6 G. f$ f2 gDue 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* p3 U5 u0 O* \/ |( R( Q3 F0 _2 [& F! H1 f! M
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ( d% k1 m( R, z% @ 1 }% o. a# { K1 N/ d% V0 QMeanwhile 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. ! M4 M5 ]9 w2 d5 T6 @2 o) c$ }2 A
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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. + L" O6 K( N" [ 7 `, ~0 P- c: g8 RBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ) [ i4 v N: V X+ D9 p2 R+ o; T5 |: e: ]% y# k+ I
"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. " E J( m# q* R, n
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"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. ' N @8 ]& a9 o# X5 x; P1 e3 r9 `% Q' ^9 b" w6 W
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM