GTA Residents Picking Up The Pieces In Wake Of Violent Storm
Posted August 21, 2009 6:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The storm is long gone but residents across southern Ontario are still dealing with the aftermath.
An 11-year-old boy was killed during the wicked weather Thursday night, which destroyed homes and businesses, toppled trees, and left thousands of people without power.
Environment Canada confirmed on Friday that two F2 tornadoes touched down in the hardest-hit areas of Woodbridge and Durham and is investigating other possible tornadoes in the Newmarket and Collingwood areas.
Teams were out across the province assessing the damage all day Friday, which is likely to cost tens of millions of dollars.
The storm also claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy who had been attending a day camp in a Durham conservation area. Witnesses report the young victim was inside a tent with other children when a tornado touched down in Durham, just south of Owen Sound.
Environment Canada reps said they considered the events of the day the worst seen in years.
“From year to year we do tend to get at least one big defining event and it does appear that the events of Aug. 20 will be one of these large scale events,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
“Now it’s just a question of trying to figure out how much damage it caused, its path and rating.”
Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson declared a state of emergency as a result of the damage. Forty-four homes and a school have been declared structurally unsound and had to be evacuated.
The most significant problems were concentrated in the following neighbourhoods:
– Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue
– Wexford Street and Lawrence Avenue
– Islington Avenue West
– Bayview Avenue and Lawrence Avenue
Premier Dalton McGuinty cancelled a morning engagement in Cornwall to inspect the damage first-hand, offering to help in the cleanup effort.
“We’ll work together to do everything we can to assure the safety of residents here,” McGuinty said. “That we get the power and gas lines back up and running as soon as possible.”
Both Mayor David Miller and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have promised to provide assistance as well.
“We share our thoughts and prayers with any who have lost lives or have dislocation because of this,” Harper said.
“Obviously the government of Canada, where appropriate, will work with local and provincial authorities to deal with this situation.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
Rating the Severity of Tornadoes (courtesy of Environment Canada)
The Fujita scale is used to rate the severity of tornadoes as a measure of the damage they cause. The scale was devised in 1971 by the Japanese-American meteorologist Tetsuya (Ted) Fujita. It classifies tornadoes using the following scale.
F0 – light winds of 64 to 116 km/hr; some damage to chimneys, TV antennas, roof shingles, trees, signs, and windows and accounts for about 28 percent of all tornadoes.
F1 – moderate winds of 117 to 180 km/hr; automobiles overturned, carports destroyed, and trees uprooted. F1 tornadoes account for about 39 percent of all tornadoes.
F2 – considerable winds of 181 to 252 km/hr; roofs blown off homes, sheds and outbuildings demolished, and mobile homes overturned. F2 tornadoes account for about 24 percent of all tornadoes.
F3 – severe winds of 253 to 330 km/hr; exterior walls and roofs blown off homes, metal buildings collapsed or severely damaged, and forests and farmland flattened. F2 tornadoes account for about six percent of all tornadoes.
F4 – devastating winds of 331 to 417 km/hr; few walls, if any, left standing in well-built homes; large steel and concrete missiles thrown great distances. F4 tornadoes account for about two percent of all tornadoes.
F5 – incredible winds of 418 to 509 km/hr; homes leveled or carried great distances. F5 tornadoes can cause tremendous damage to large structures such as schools and motels and can tear off exterior walls and roofs. Tornadoes of this magnitude account for less than one percent of all tornadoes. There has been one documented F5 in Canada, in Elie Manitoba on June 22, 2007. In addition, recent research suggests that historically as many as two may have occurred in Saskatchewan. F5 tornadoes are possible in Canada every summer.
Image credit: Renee B. – Brampton.
