6 I) ?* _, X; I$ J( E, ' N5 d' U* j& b2 W/ R ; o$ g# P3 k: T, a# Sthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.* c0 C& Y& K8 {8 U. ~/ o {
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*********************************************************** 8 y4 O% Y0 Z4 J* H3 T6 \Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 2 x H4 n9 j. L
by: PAUL CHOI , y* J+ V7 {1 g5 ]* K J8 K
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET& {& D6 a2 r# d: U
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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. 1 M8 e6 U) Y, i 8 V6 h4 F9 j8 d2 z( r0 ?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.9 s6 O1 H8 ?) B( ?: U- v# g& w
: {! D4 Q% c% b' Y# IIt 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. 5 Y. j, X5 P! s; S7 _6 W5 b7 U" }* o! q9 x: T# d9 w) G5 i# 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." * T. V% N2 q' `$ |' Y/ l( }. x4 M q& D) X) B5 ?
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. ( g# S* b7 g. @! r! d" H5 F: s' F2 w2 _' [! \3 V; `" e/ V
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. % L. p1 J" W' W: n F( A1 h1 C4 m0 C1 A! v1 M$ f! H: H
"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."8 b2 I& G$ X9 _8 a# Y
) I2 K% c* e* g. ~: r. r, AOn Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 8 n" G) G- F) l1 z; X' H 8 G# Z& K3 H5 u$ QAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. 3 [( Y; {8 }: K Y6 e- R# m : G) d* \0 c+ r6 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."' A E& W* s: H1 V; p
+ W% o' W3 x- {* HFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.# }' w0 {5 x/ ]# a4 m* Z# U2 U
' g, Q( f" }2 DThey 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+ R. A$ h* D. `# }3 L
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" + p" }' \: r; c" H) F. j5 f" n! @$ V( S ^
Officials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. * M2 E# K/ E* s & g- A3 `( m9 hAided 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( |7 W0 J( b5 x # l m9 o! w3 t7 q% ^2 ~% ~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.2 u) _3 u7 }7 }' _, `8 v8 J
( d' }: O7 x6 K"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.8 l! O( Z; B* |
+ H. p+ A( g& l. e& [5 p! wDue 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. " J" D/ O- v5 Q; Z W4 O
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The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 2 G0 M/ \+ O% w% ?: v' I/ o5 j1 c( x/ d e5 r7 X
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 {7 D* x) `9 {/ y
^0 y0 a2 p7 w# ?) n) l5 S3 ?$ 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. ' f Z* y2 @: E1 \3 g. Y
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. 9 T9 g0 e$ H. P6 y6 Y' Z: C
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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. * o* K5 T6 i9 H# a1 N4 @ C
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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. . @ C; `1 E0 ~# `, N k- x b: x
********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM