On Tuesday, summer storms of biblical proportions slammed Toronto, triggering record rainfall and flash floods. The torrential downpour submerged roads, knocked out power to thousands, and caused untold havoc to the city’s transit system. Several images and videos shared on social media showed the scale of the devastation.
Environment Canada issued a warning for up to 125 millimetres (4.9 inches) of rainfall, which pounded most of the city until the afternoon. The agency later determined that almost 100 mm (4 in.) of rain fell, surpassing the city’s daily record set as far back as 1941.
‘July is typically the second rainiest, second wettest month. Well we had 25 percent more rain in three hours than we’d have normally in the whole month of July with all the thunderstorms and systems that moved through,’ Meteorologist Dave Phillips said in an interview with CP24 Tuesday afternoon.
Flash floods inundated major highways, including the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, prompting closures and leaving many people stranded. Lakeshore Boulevard, near Ontario Place, was also swamped, disrupting service at nearby subway stations.
Emergency services were stretched thin as they fought to get a handle on the situation. Toronto firefighters were busy rescuing people from stranded vehicles and responding to calls of flooding in homes and buildings. Toronto Hydro reported widespread power outages impacting a peak of about 167,000 customers. Crews worked non-stop to restore power throughout the city.
The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) reported significant disruptions due to flooding at stations. At one point, Union Station was plunged into darkness due to a power outage, forcing trains to bypass the major transportation hub.
Affluent neighbourhoods were not spared from the damaging effects of the floods. Famous rapper Drake shared footage of murky water pouring through his luxury dressing room. Displaying his sense of humour, he captioned the clip, “This better be Espresso Martini,” comparing the water to a coffee-flavoured cocktail.
Mayor Olivia Chow claimed the flooding did not impact emergency services. However, she acknowledged that there were some challenges and said the city would review its response to see if improvements could be made for future events.
Environment Canada warned that the saturated ground had little capacity to absorb more water, raising concerns about continued flooding risks.
Toronto residents have been urged to be patient as the city deals with the storm’s aftermath.
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