Torrential rain that pummeled Toronto flooded a major highway, several thoroughfares and a key transit hub on Tuesday, while leaving large parts of the city without power.
Part of the Don Valley Parkway, which runs from the north part of the city into downtown, was closed due to flooding, with stretches of the highway awash with brown water. Toronto Fire Services said they rescued two people from flooding on the highway – one from inside their vehicle and another from the roof of their car – and later rescued another 12 people from flooding further down the highway.
Man forced to abandon his car in downtown Toronto after intense rain causes flash flooding on Lake Shore pic.twitter.com/FRyYH7uxkY
— Brandon Gonez (@brandongonez) July 16, 2024
Fire crews were also responding to an “extremely high” number of rescues related to flooding and elevator entrapments, the service said.
#WATCH: Scenes from the DVP in Toronto right now😳 pic.twitter.com/aaIEklmChE
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) July 16, 2024
At the heart of the downtown core, there was flooding at Union station, a key transit terminus. Water was seen pooling on the floor of a main concourse and stores at the station were closed. Parts of the underground PATH network, which has retail and restaurants and connects to Union, were also closed due to flooding.
Subway trains were not stopping at Union, the Toronto Transit Commission said, while several transit buses and streetcars were making detours on their regular routes across the city due to localized flooding. GO Transit, which operates regional trains and buses across the Greater Toronto Area, reported several cancellations and delays out of Union.
Roads Flooded On📍Hwy410 SB @ Courtney Park
— 401_da_sarpanch (@401_da_sarpanch) July 16, 2024
.#mississauga #hwy410 #brampton #flood #traffic #onhwys #onpoli #weather #peelregion pic.twitter.com/V39SmK6PtD
Billy Bishop Airport, which is located on the Toronto Islands minutes from downtown, said its pedestrian tunnel had been closed due to flooding, with passengers directed to take the ferry over to the airport. The airport said some flights had been affected and urged passengers to check their flight status with their airlines.
Toronto Hydro said it was responding to "widespread outages" affecting large areas throughout the city. "We’re currently working with Hydro One to restore power. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding," it wrote on X.
Union station #onstorm #toronto pic.twitter.com/kc4g9s0wuf
— Robert Hickey (@rfhburlington) July 16, 2024
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the city was working to deal with the fallout from the massive downpour, noting that emergency services had not been affected.
She urged people to stay away from lakes and shorelines due to flooding, adding that she had seen images of cars abandoned on washed out roadways. Chow also noted that parts of city hall had experienced some flooding.
Long-term work is needed to deal with such weather events in the future, she said.
"We really seriously have to deal with climate change because these kinds of days are going to be a lot more frequent," she told reporters, adding that there would be a review of preventative measures for flooding procedures in light of Tuesday's storm.
The flooding points to greater budget issues with the city’s aging infrastructure, the mayor said. While the city is “grateful” for the estimated $2 billion saved by uploading the repair costs of the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to the province, it needs more funds to make significant repairs, Chow said.
"We are $26 billion short over 10 years to fix the old infrastructure," she said. “So I do what I can to prevent buildings from leaking or basements from flooding, all of those things.”
On Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto, where water was seen pooling on a closed-off section of the road, several people turned back on a pedestrian path as they encountered shin-deep water. Some, however, waded through while workers in yellow vests collected garbage from the roadside.
Andrea Hatt was rolling a suitcase along Lakeshore Boulevard trying to get from her hotel to Union Station to catch a train home to Burlington, Ont. Flooding on the road meant her route was blocked.
"I don’t know where we’re going to go now to get to the GO Train,” she said.
“I feel like it came so quick and there was really not a lot of warning about it, you know. We knew it was going to rain but it wasn't supposed to be like this kind of rain.”
Hatt said she loved visiting Toronto and had a great time in the city but now was focused on making it out safely.
"I wanna go home," she said.
David Lai was also on the sidewalk alongside Lakeshore Boulevard and said he had ventured out after the power went out in his downtown condo.
"It was pretty crazy," he said of the rainstorm.
At one car dealership near the DVP, rows of vehicles were seen sitting in brown water that came up to their headlights. In the city's financial district, water was seen in the lobby of one large office tower as workers stood outside.
Flooding was also disrupting life in many other parts of the Greater Toronto Area, with the provincial police warning of flooding on parts of highways and local police forces urging caution.
In Peel Region, west of Toronto, Mississauga Fire said a creek beside a nursing home had overflowed, causing extensive flooding. Fire crews and paramedics were on scene to help patients.
Local police had said they had reports of manhole covers lifting due to the volume of rain and were urging residents to use caution when driving.
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority issued a flood warning and said that shorelines, rivers and streams in the Greater Toronto Area should be considered dangerous.
Environment Canada had issued rainfall warnings for the Greater Toronto Area and much of southern Ontario as a mix of heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the region.
It had warned that there could be rainfall amounts of up to 125 millimetres for parts of the Greater Toronto Area, and Hamilton could see up to 50 millimetres.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.
