+ G) { o; c5 m; p: y$ k) f" Nthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. ; n+ I+ }4 B- ~% N& q3 e/ r+ e7 ^5 g
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*********************************************************** 6 S4 S0 o( ^6 i2 nResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 1 `1 a, x' j6 G- G( {3 l/ |
by: PAUL CHOI 8 i; d9 `7 s1 P/ m# b, mSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET2 H$ M8 B/ z6 s, w4 }# j
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% \% `; f* O7 G9 A% F- n/ @8 T3 BTORONTO (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.3 _2 o5 [: a* k# _5 O% l0 s
- _% W7 i0 |/ `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.( m2 f4 ?* j8 E+ H) w7 x' p
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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. / [! U. G$ v6 _1 F; r' j3 H1 i3 l: ^# r 8 l0 K1 l" r/ p' Q1 \2 s \# ?. g" @; i"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( ~' U7 u, g3 o# q! \ ~; j 0 D# W1 V( y" \8 v- @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.' t4 B; u+ I$ ]- Z+ o9 z
1 g, i# K; A# \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.; j) }& Y( k7 ?9 Y0 z
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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."# r+ r3 D& C$ M; {( Z4 }
& H1 M* p! V; b- M1 }+ ^% rOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand." i# Y5 h0 @7 j, p, Y
- {$ v$ t) c2 d& O! u8 eAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. % Y% y) a* G5 j+ A9 r& [ 5 G7 Z+ k" y2 V t b"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."; h8 {+ D5 K/ \5 {: 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.7 E7 p7 v% {- E I
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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. 2 H A* Q3 @ @, ^8 A. e! z% t- H" X0 V# A1 u! Q) J9 Q
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"1 W, p4 e, r7 U P% u" k- H
0 p. E3 L+ Q1 n# fOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.( p9 J6 B4 p" x
X& [8 \4 j5 A# ^; }* H0 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.5 u: I0 E w6 U8 \2 q x
8 H" _9 A8 ~* d0 e. J1 [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. 9 R& U' C5 T, J# r) u# r , p) \) z5 |- v7 m) g& s9 J5 m9 h% S"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 I' o7 t8 @, M" J0 I, C
3 h/ k, ^" y4 ~0 e. hDue 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 l, D: P3 j. V8 B8 W" C1 M% T7 k6 M
The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 3 l! T/ t, t9 i; O2 q" y8 |2 e1 Z# @5 C, B1 {
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. 8 f9 z* Z$ ?0 r5 s2 P7 V# ?
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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. * @5 K. M3 _ b/ l' s. |6 d. p+ D, @, S: |4 v, j6 [" ^1 q8 T8 ]
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. . Y2 }$ i# u+ c9 [" N9 Q, {" ?7 ^" G& _$ 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. 7 E a$ E* W/ T$ J7 n 9 h6 @) p8 e! Q"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.' X8 \: I0 H4 x w/ ?
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM