$ H/ Z, B4 u: V gsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado * O( j9 V: H: l4 T5 l# R ) e1 G3 ?: G* t* B0 },& u9 W/ b1 q' x+ p4 R8 Z
8 O+ Q" o. i( P, a% }the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.6 H, B" z& }+ q; T2 T( E
* y5 q' W) C" F- K" w9 [$ J8 } $ [4 z7 g9 v, l+ ^, `/ A* x***********************************************************' P. @; w8 B1 D( N% P Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado % P9 F3 u+ `/ n/ a% ?+ v- @
by: PAUL CHOI / F I" p# ?" N0 V$ d
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET2 z1 X. F0 z% y& ~0 [1 g
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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.9 u8 p: t) |6 e; C$ n; l& F
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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 X2 L9 z! `! ^0 c& l$ s: Q
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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., O% a+ R- T5 C
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"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." & `* M' `* O5 E4 l ) k- [4 J, a; B/ s0 \- DA 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. ! b1 T4 y+ }# ^. {! T( K y0 p9 w( K1 ~. M$ ?/ |. s$ dElsewhere 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. - }! D" x" [( l% }# m" Y2 C7 e2 y
"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."9 ~; y1 A+ m: q8 c# e0 K' c
* n% T. o6 e9 {# j1 t8 s$ nOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.4 G: }! F& [8 H- \6 S9 I3 Z1 p/ i6 H
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ Z) p6 u5 A' u. P6 W
, _- R- w# D4 D- {"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." 0 Q2 u% d( g6 [$ T% t& J+ h) C- p0 b ?( G
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 p# L+ D, f
; K+ n i) K1 aThey 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. ; P# P/ o* c$ W' @8 e( B 0 l6 R( N+ K3 M0 v) E"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" ! r. ~# c4 `" n0 x" A 3 B7 y% O- q" Z$ f2 W% ZOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.; r) u6 V+ Q1 v) M4 B K
0 E* d% v% j0 N8 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.4 `) a/ x! r& i9 J; Z6 a/ A
' @# }+ N- H- _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. ) o; z. H ^' D# S. ?8 r/ b+ j Q% o
"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.+ v# S: N+ u- }" k1 J
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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. 8 s: P& ?5 @. F' F% O2 H' J+ Z0 I$ j0 i
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ; i$ C# e/ c. I4 A% j 1 v, s4 k! v3 ?1 H. Z8 l) i& CMeanwhile 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. , o; M' R5 R/ n5 O# T. F6 J ! Y4 C( p& e+ e S1 z* 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. 7 Z3 D5 _, ?& C! j9 c4 P$ ?
7 o) j2 S3 c {( o6 N% e1 @But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. % ~/ k1 l2 X9 g
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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. ; ~' o2 s$ v1 u* s) C- j 5 M! l D6 _4 Y* a: Y/ w6 D$ m! u: ~$ \"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., u5 M: S9 X- y" B, w P* [, v- A
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM