, _4 F5 P/ J1 l7 T9 q, t. q, * [# H, I6 {# r! ] 0 h- e- U0 [3 R/ p; {! Kthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.) x2 a) ~& I5 p2 y6 v
8 j% y/ {. _. }8 Y2 G $ S; o+ B [8 b' H0 V: |4 {( e***********************************************************5 _( @/ I6 u( @1 K2 y7 T7 u Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado * B: N/ _/ m7 _" [. x: ]: W
by: PAUL CHOI 8 ^0 E) S; H# i' I9 b8 D2 t
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET # b8 I7 W6 X$ e7 v) f3 P/ V" q8 b( c0 Y1 F
5 t/ I# r- Y9 H7 R: vTORONTO (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.! e& r* G! e7 C, R
, M- L' r: t+ S6 R' r, 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. " m9 O6 |7 Y5 G8 o 4 U3 q V7 F/ b6 P( cIt 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. * L0 @/ {: D' b( G A- s9 S: m 6 @" x6 E! y, d$ a K- l( G1 n"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."% ~: D; y* k9 W* x3 l( r- F& f
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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. 1 p% q m7 S$ ~9 B( }/ e# D2 E9 c2 R* Z% t
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.2 t5 _ U6 `2 V- H8 C, W% G' }
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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."& g0 v' Q, J1 ?3 `
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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. 6 {9 C( X Z7 R! K4 \2 S ; X: y0 F6 w7 `& CAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.- e, g, q; Y3 Q) Q
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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." 4 m- `$ H# U/ |* b0 ^( O, F 9 v2 v5 O0 P! G! ? v2 i$ e8 oFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. & ~& Y; a; R2 e8 u1 Y% P/ j: b
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., T- O: m4 a3 J* p+ [1 h
. {- r. b) v' N6 L/ C"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"$ [0 [% v M* {5 U# d4 ?4 a0 @5 |
2 {! p2 O7 a# q+ k3 j# {7 X! rOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.8 A& g0 C: F1 v! Y8 t
& u+ B; e- G+ C z" _7 PAided 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." @; V% I) d2 {+ i" K8 `- m
0 C% s4 `. w/ k2 r1 j' c6 SCoulson 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. 0 O9 T2 X: i2 u" x * H+ r) s# ~) J- P6 ~"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. 4 }1 w5 i/ [; ]: V4 l U, Q% F u5 A8 H" r% n- `( X" CDue 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. 5 q# {+ g0 E+ ]' L2 n9 X& _( { / V* o% ^! @! O. Y1 Z5 QThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. . c5 }# B$ J' n) n; J + Z! d4 ^( M! Y K0 fMeanwhile 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. 5 j$ |1 f" \( a5 ~0 f! d
, H+ A& I* A3 D- ODuring 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. , P. R/ h( b4 M3 i$ \+ F 7 Q) K$ I4 f! e# n) }But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. & s" ]" l8 a4 B, G 9 p3 o9 B' m, d"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. & h/ S, K" `/ \/ b* G* B; S4 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.0 C# d) d p/ r5 V& S
( A) ^4 F; B& J9 S********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM