, Y: ~& K! P. x: ?0 t0 S8 g3 u+ M 8 {5 B4 l6 Y# Q# }5 Z + }" U7 i. }* V5 N/ W0 w4 vthank you for the news, 8 A o7 ~5 i' N- ^i have some news from toronto too...- |( K* H, L! z0 n( v
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toronto was hit by two tornado yesterday. Some place in toronto even 水浸!!!. / m1 V3 v4 c$ V9 ^ j& ^these are pictures from other sites, taken yesterday. 6 k. l" v' c8 O3 \9 b& r7 l# w: S8 rhttp://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/050819_traffic_storm_250.jpg- }' [- }- d, {
! X, L' l0 f$ r7 A" Zsouthwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado6 H+ [- }# [( w6 p! B' K. Y
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.0 [4 j: k0 q1 ^% N- x3 e2 _" v9 ~
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8 k' E$ \( e9 d0 ^*********************************************************** - P; ^: J( J {Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 5 k& G3 i1 r2 ?. k/ \5 {
by: PAUL CHOI ! v- C4 D) x$ Y8 e
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET5 t5 d9 L, d A/ 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. j) x# r% ?* |2 K
% x% b* n1 N- {; pThe 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. # G) E$ C5 l8 l, S + s4 c7 }; g; ^& Q0 ~( T1 t9 @7 UIt 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.6 E6 m5 Q0 d/ o# Z
# o. ~/ G/ m! C p: p3 V/ Z4 p"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."! } `9 C' F. K
( O) j& f+ n! z* i$ UA 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.9 h4 Q( O( N4 A2 {) r4 T
1 t) t& A1 X, `( f6 J9 W% u4 oElsewhere 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. . r. D! ^: C0 h: V- L2 G9 ~: g 5 `9 |" J" ~; m8 O"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."; |) b2 r6 `# l3 v+ W' M
7 O0 r+ h! U( WOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 6 v+ D' }' O6 d4 B ]6 Z - ]* M5 p7 C3 |' q9 x% w3 y6 ZAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.) Z% k( p$ B& C4 V: x
2 p) [7 y5 ^- A" m/ f9 M; ^5 t"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."( x# e+ S9 A) `/ n; B
9 b. k6 b4 b* R2 rFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.% Z4 R* V6 |6 I$ ]
9 H$ r" `$ D* Z! p+ m" c( e3 _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. ; i0 M# E! E+ J # V7 I# C* O5 \. j"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"8 d! U/ y( e# D. } N
' n; I" L/ R; T& t# X" ~3 d2 c; iOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes./ c P7 h7 Q6 H+ P3 r8 [: D- R& g
9 W) @8 L. D- C' G9 v% fAided 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 ?8 y+ F8 o+ w+ J- T/ B w5 N) s% k1 tCoulson 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.& R- x6 }! [& z/ Z+ z+ C
& e" _* J7 ?/ B2 {"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. 5 f! Y- T3 X- e; i- W7 q. r" K" O1 A3 J+ Y y- c, |5 n# X
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. 0 x5 Y1 `3 x+ h1 @# i7 D9 n* `
4 ]' X+ a4 d' S: B4 pThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. ' E# m- C: r) W
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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. 5 T5 _' \) o- e7 Q: @ / e; M/ f9 X: {0 bDuring 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. 6 j/ W1 F: C; Z" m! `
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. & @; y% g! o& s. j8 r4 \3 y4 B9 M
( |1 N9 l6 r6 o% T* {: E0 C+ W) e"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. . R4 p+ F; L }# J / Q4 C+ }$ {2 X, m"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.6 Y* P7 p8 F/ K e$ a- s& R ^