9 O' u7 y8 X( ^: G1 ~: e/ |6 l: xthe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.9 H% f' K1 q7 l4 t9 k6 ^$ k: l" Z! J
7 W" g. j9 q; G6 s% k5 |9 M % Z" }* X5 _- E' q- E& c***********************************************************" _+ l/ Y# U& D" T: C8 c Residents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado & u' U& h# D* ?' M
by: PAUL CHOI $ E. k* H8 R+ g& \! L# T
Sat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET: O. v1 Y* J5 x h$ \/ _( t
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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.) b5 m; t1 a" ~
/ n3 n) f9 M* KThe 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.; `) `8 l9 K9 U
" @' s; K. M1 g9 z q4 G7 \It 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 _# f# P3 N k, M) b( J9 e4 o
+ o. t. C8 r; a"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."" ?* F5 s% m+ s5 [1 u' g
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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.# F. G9 I; l& B5 a( 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. 4 i9 A5 W* h" o5 D; _/ r 6 B$ Z" c7 C- y: |: u% l5 R( I"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."( T/ @2 \' g L! [
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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. 1 A) G, S! s& o. Q5 p7 c2 @1 F7 O" X2 {. r; |8 _0 W" N, w* r
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said. ( c' t+ o: u) J2 O, j8 T6 r# [$ {: \ ?& f4 v S" s6 A
"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." ( C6 t! i1 C# i- W* x% h7 t/ r
Fergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window.6 n1 i0 w& g7 V$ V6 g) a
" f$ V2 T/ D5 `! V5 q$ aThey 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. 1 n/ H, S0 r% f4 E9 K9 Q# q Y4 x: _4 c5 p7 n
"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" X) M7 O0 r8 N) P: T* ^% i# c
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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.. m& y; x# p0 Q6 R9 I; D
0 I7 j, A L5 ^" w 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.( S7 T! j+ _4 [
% r* V+ [; k9 R% o* g, h1 \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& Y/ R3 ~5 S1 M# R. o9 {4 W9 w5 u5 o6 s* K9 H. E
"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. $ c/ F& M! u' Q% H: Z6 l5 b " E4 N, `9 U6 Q: [/ X* q6 RDue 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% s6 t. F3 G; F9 G
! c7 a" d( M! @The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 9 c1 f1 R& j0 E- y. ?8 j
6 I, O$ D! v& `+ g! K! m! n! _% }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. 4 P. I- Z8 x( L% U, ~+ Z
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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. ' ]3 A8 @$ K: ]' o/ c2 z
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But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , ]7 ~# }8 K, Z1 ]8 n# q
: ^4 R* H. B: Y1 g5 ^"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. Z/ X& v+ Y- ]2 X0 O! Z+ c8 y& O" v6 F' C2 w! C' L. N& f9 U
"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.' T+ O* V* \/ W5 `7 f; k3 X