4 m. b6 T4 Z6 R0 w- l # d2 Z h' g4 x : ]/ V' c9 u6 V0 a, v" ]thank you for the news, 5 z( A: W) c1 I/ U0 w' Ji have some news from toronto too... & }, c8 E9 |; M x9 x1 W f' E% k0 b0 G4 N8 q0 e
toronto was hit by two tornado yesterday. Some place in toronto even 水浸!!!. ( R q0 a, D; Vthese are pictures from other sites, taken yesterday.5 c/ S& c8 Q, ?1 s3 T7 p a http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/050819_traffic_storm_250.jpg# G, g3 ~1 L2 u/ h; f6 l
0 f7 R6 p& |4 r! L, ^& x http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_tornado_rains_050819.jpg) R( f5 p6 N* N/ V* a$ O
, A1 M) L+ V# X- P http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_storm_050819.jpg+ l: J3 d! v: J; u, ]( f
/ M( P' y+ m9 h0 H l8 x http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050819/160_toronto_flood_050819.jpg; s- [: `9 C% u- Y/ ^- Y
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southwestern toronto and northern toronto was hit by a tornado 4 S$ ^& S# X; [1 C: f( q3 h( w7 ~. F8 r3 ^
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the southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.8 x0 i0 U: `( J
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***********************************************************! p; w1 r6 H! W6 v$ B' o3 j Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 6 E; f; H P. ]' E4 `) T
by: PAUL CHOI ! s9 }1 p9 E& g5 h/ O3 ^, N8 S2 M) gSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET ( { z' v+ V5 N0 n4 @" h4 |3 S# \( r
1 M) V; y' i; y. M% kTORONTO (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. . H8 M; {( z! _2 _6 \! p% k# S! @; ?. B" e
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. ' L, T! D( \. f; S8 E' Q; f! _ 5 M j" K0 i1 W$ jIt 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. & ^9 n* {3 h r, t 4 ?0 y$ A1 R) y+ p8 `! o"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." % ^0 H0 ^( q! f # a( o" y: w1 _" ~! x$ vA 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.' y9 I7 J% B" k4 _2 O0 \1 r
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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.. W# }( ` E+ L9 V
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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." 5 \: c9 c) X! Y" T* t' _ a 3 O0 d7 e+ }6 ~* ^On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand.& X8 [3 V3 r* x4 Q0 [( Q! I0 a& I2 ]; s
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Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.: |. z* z9 G$ B, W J7 v
7 N5 G" J, d6 ^1 Y& i6 G y- c"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.". M3 ~) M- j. j' W, c! B3 j
) c9 V1 k& g& FFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. - v+ i r! P: N: C# [ + b. Q$ I9 W6 m2 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. ; V. }( f! {- S1 J8 e* D& k * Z( }$ l. n- ^% G"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"2 b' i$ d W/ e7 b7 ~. l
5 ?+ z# o0 A, b9 v6 Z- v3 DOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. 0 l' R) S+ p0 U1 p' c6 G 1 D) t: J; n. a$ S3 \( k- }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. ; p5 _: T9 j2 k% |, F) g7 x( z! }) U3 m, z0 W1 P4 G
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. : }: }% B; _+ C' p& O d& t R! y* ^$ }) K$ [# J"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. i! w* I2 A0 M. X; `
5 V$ R& N4 A& ?& [ l" MDue 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. " Z$ k: r* ~1 W8 R* p
. O0 ^4 r& H3 R2 \4 _+ fThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 1 V+ T' b: J' B4 }. L8 d, V; P0 ^8 r: l5 C& l- S
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 J' ]! y/ ?( Z! g/ a/ t8 b$ ^
6 \4 W- a1 g. [3 S* gDuring 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. ( |2 `# ^2 ^- T ' W4 K- ]5 M, P' d7 qBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. * K4 O1 N3 R9 |5 P4 y5 j6 b& |' t
2 B: D; u8 v! g6 u"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. 2 R, J; U' @/ k' p r# d+ W! i) a) Z( O7 }"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.) D1 K T7 W4 a