; H* W1 s/ J. _# s1 v0 |3 b# k7 l*********************************************************** 6 D) c* Y. ]7 O" A2 L& _+ ]8 _Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado # z' A1 k6 m: U9 K9 d, Z! q1 vby: PAUL CHOI ! {2 r% L1 s" n1 y
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET4 L8 z0 R( D, H
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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. * a; V3 U: K1 [0 g H0 Z3 }7 J. q! g: G: N* \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. 8 r0 p9 F4 y+ _6 N9 @. l# H1 x. o
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. ; [+ J# w3 {5 c9 }4 Y0 i: k9 H$ a d: f9 r; q
"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." 1 a" e6 B( [* Q- V3 e# g2 d! c. B0 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.- t6 [* F$ m9 m; Q4 T, `
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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., M" i1 `( l+ r2 j+ M
5 @7 K4 b* ^8 _/ ~ a7 i9 k 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."% p( O$ i- x6 b" t* w
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 0 q+ O& z1 q+ [. k' B6 Q, Q/ c3 b$ O8 _$ I' s
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.) H9 w4 c# U2 z1 n: j4 s
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"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."8 y! B( B* p) a" j
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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.3 x P! x( a% B
. q& U9 H" F4 HThey 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.0 x! A( W% |+ r; W- K
/ Z: i* o- K8 B$ A"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" % j% y) A6 x0 {3 {2 e + W5 E; t" K6 }9 hOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 0 e; E! x J' E' _1 S x; \ E2 V. I( J3 Y
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. ; f. H! M( M2 W ! O0 b: q; o: c! [8 Z( }! ^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.( P) j/ o. `4 j: F3 a: q! _4 T
. V. P& O: G3 q& x1 k( e: 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. . \" P" |- j9 d$ F% T, i4 j. Y2 p3 V4 D$ 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. . Z4 ~" w- I! T0 K9 s# \- f6 _) L% B' D# r$ X" e& c
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. " {* p6 ^' W0 z6 ? 4 W9 ~" l$ f; A3 S4 VMeanwhile 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. ) u5 l8 @+ p) A, [2 a5 `+ U4 E
4 o! ?! \* |, v9 [* K5 wDuring 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 @) o9 x6 Z0 u! s6 ~! I
9 X: _* C, F! i6 K3 `But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ) x+ \9 G" f( v2 a* k5 a8 }
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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. & Y& c" U: a" O% }- r1 O: H H
5 ~+ K+ G/ `2 ], h"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. 3 m! x6 Z! a6 j: D w0 Z( \' b3 D0 ?' k' ~' T1 p
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM