# y* |3 { M0 P; {( ?1 h. l+ N/ N8 u+ I, & u4 ~- E; e3 X. c ! i8 j, A2 v( t/ j+ E% {: ]the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. ' n8 L6 K. M8 g, M7 {! H% L' G, Q- i8 B! ]/ s
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*********************************************************** $ y9 y5 J- H. P1 h7 nResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado & a' O) j' [7 ^
by: PAUL CHOI 7 G: a- o/ `. {, n6 R2 L
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET: R& F0 h/ H' e+ @' L
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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. 7 J- j& {5 {( W1 e# ?9 j 7 x* Y7 M; R- u) J% `0 R% h0 s& P9 j/ hThe 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. " W+ ]; V0 ~# k- U( w/ h 6 H& T6 Z% @6 U' Q8 `# [' t1 w8 F# U* QIt 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.% h e4 ^* g7 n% t0 F
' K& |( p0 O& @- d, O& t"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.": }8 [0 G: m; E) J; j
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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. * A* g" ~1 M7 a" I8 V& `& q5 L* V* b6 X; x9 j6 l* ]
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. 7 ]) c6 l; i. z2 ]& f2 f0 y7 J* T5 }9 W7 g% z6 x0 X7 U( p$ d/ Y# x% e
"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." K6 w, H+ @4 A8 g6 M 3 Y$ }+ w4 ]2 H8 y' COn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. " d/ G% e* M* L - Y5 _" s6 X2 i. P) w4 pAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 1 m" H4 ~6 B1 l" X7 t; C @0 ^* n& g0 q$ l% a4 O+ p. r
"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."# d! {$ m0 F7 S6 b. X: E, m* v
9 d) T$ E4 a- m) l1 L7 [ zFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. + q7 u% c) ]2 t% ]+ f9 X - z N3 w8 v J) e4 C# m8 ?0 IThey 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. * y! D$ C3 k) U# Y" ~+ H, i% u* e! [1 {" o) |2 h, j2 k
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"; a1 K' x; c, V4 v4 I1 D
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Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. & |' U( o+ {* g- f; F; b+ s+ u! d! D9 d2 `
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.7 V. H7 i, X- u& O* q# ]" u5 i
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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.8 _1 W: F* ?6 V/ E
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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.6 C W* [( i; K& B, n
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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. # U0 C2 x; `, q1 V+ F# U
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. , |1 i; n t" R. B8 Z: E, ]/ q1 A6 N& C0 ~+ `/ F; u8 [; w- m; I; u
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. & I1 N, x8 L. W) v) j
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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. . V" r. m; j2 T/ W6 U' ` . y" v5 S: Z; i. l5 e" ^$ H& rBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. & ^; ?* X4 q. I. u A 0 w; u" t5 q# e" f"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. 4 w0 j8 u+ K+ i9 |2 v* s
8 B3 R h# f+ E: R0 K# v"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. $ k& B( N0 \* T$ T4 w- ^0 t/ Q- u8 h
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM