) u4 [: _* R; r5 m. I; u# n9 cthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. $ }; R" f" s9 h o9 ~6 ^$ ^$ g% U. o$ U
/ h. `& C/ z0 `***********************************************************" ~: @1 E* H5 P; T3 V$ V, g Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 2 L# L% \+ J/ X) n/ ?2 v+ v2 z# Z
by: PAUL CHOI 3 M. A1 U& J6 Z0 ^8 }1 @" dSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 5 C& J% O E* z; X+ N 1 B7 F* f! u) v$ T" \7 X9 e# P+ D1 G$ }1 W8 }2 [# d, t0 I1 S
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.# [- X. C% x9 ]) r4 o; Y& B
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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. 0 \. p( G& [8 l6 f' e7 v: h - H8 m& u6 z7 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. / i- I/ ~/ }1 Z8 K5 v, M( j: N1 Q9 s# n1 U9 a2 r' ?
"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." " r+ u3 `" V- D9 m5 F- v & @3 G/ v! X- J2 W) aA 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.% N& q7 Q) U, w, o$ a* w6 }/ p
. `+ k- y# Y/ o; S/ r$ PElsewhere 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.# v4 b& V9 T6 U" F" g0 D0 g, L( U
8 l4 U+ y7 u/ V"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."3 }. ~1 _: N& Y" c
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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. % X, @- r3 u U7 w; L' A5 |! s+ m( n$ U( D+ C
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.' x% ~! u# C. z1 ~ `
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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." ! Q4 f, y8 o3 y$ k, {" X9 t/ A* s 6 ~# a! G$ q2 J( m( sFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.* X! i- O5 E, v7 e0 J' Q
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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., _" @$ ~3 L2 j; v6 R: ~+ v. |1 D
6 G1 h: \, J3 l"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"( j% B* B( W+ r0 O8 [' Z
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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.. E! {6 ]2 z+ V7 _8 j2 b/ I* D% H4 {
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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.8 m- Q) ]: @( B
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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./ _. w& x+ O! k" @! F
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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. Z. J& k2 `$ K5 _3 m- l. }9 t; z( f [2 F$ a) c* C1 O: z% i
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. 4 v5 [, P% t* s9 K8 l& w
1 t% U) [ `3 d* m iThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. / r' |' Q4 d" L C. o0 ~
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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. % k9 x5 w- ~' C9 ] : i& k5 ^- y6 S4 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. 1 T. G4 E7 q/ ?0 L' c7 N- A- T- T7 o9 j) C( v& O6 D/ K
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. ' \3 ~7 L) ?" z/ C7 O/ x! T0 ]' V, Z0 u. F: S7 r9 P
"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 m6 q/ E; \# a
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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.% W, b( N- t3 r7 U$ K" \4 i
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********************************************************************作者: daniel1989723 時間: 2005-8-25 03:59 AM