TORONTO — Torrential rain that pummelled Toronto flooded a major highway, several thoroughfares and a key transit hub on Tuesday – requiring emergency crews to rescue people from stranded cars and other spaces – while large parts of the city were left without power.
The rest of the Greater Toronto Area, which was also hit by intense downpours, similarly saw flooding disrupt parts of many communities, with portions of highways awash with water and many cars abandoned.
In Toronto, part of the Don Valley Parkway, a highway running from the north part of the city into downtown, experienced major flooding, with stretches of the highway under brown water by Tuesday afternoon. Multiple stranded vehicles could be seen abandoned in the lanes, with water having risen up past their headlights in some cases.
Toronto Fire Services said they rescued 14 people from flooding on the highway.
"We're actively rescuing people that are trapped in their cars or on top of their cars," Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "We are triaging based on life safety."
Fire crews were also responding to an “extremely high” number of rescues related to flooding and elevator entrapments across the city, the service said.
Tima Nizomov was among those who got stranded on the DVP. The 26-year-old said he had to wait in his BMW, with water around him, until firefighters came to rescue him.
"A lot of water came but ... my car is stuck and that's it," he said, recalling his decision to stay in his vehicle as water rose around him. "Firefighters helped me."
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 and stores lost power for a time.
Subway trains were not stopping at Union, the Toronto Transit Commission said Tuesday afternoon, 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.
Charles Hopkins, who had come into Toronto from Hamilton, was among those at Union trying to find a way home.
"This is a big inconvenience for everybody," he said. "We're trying to get home and there's nothing up on the board."
Toronto Hydro said it was responding to "widespread outages" affecting large areas throughout the city. A spokesperson said suspected flooding at a Hydro One transmission station had resulted in a loss of power supply to its system.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the number of affected Toronto Hydro customers was down to about 109,000 as of late Tuesday afternoon.
She said the city was working to deal with the fallout from the massive downpour, noting that emergency services had not been affected.
Meanwhile, city manager Paul Johnson said that after water subsides on roadways, it could take an additional three to four hours to clean debris, barring any additional damage that needs to be addressed.
The city also said in a news release that its 311 service received more than 700 calls related to basement flooding.
Long-term work is needed to deal with severe weather events in the future, Chow 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 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.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who was in Halifax for a meeting of Canada's premiers, told reporters he was receiving updates about the flooding situation. He said the province has invested in improving Toronto's infrastructure.
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.
Billy Bishop Airport, which is located on the Toronto Islands minutes from downtown, said its pedestrian tunnel had been closed as a precaution due to the risk of 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.
At one car dealership near the flooded 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. Streetlights at several downtown intersections were not working due to power outages.
Elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area, provincial police said a portion of Highway 410 southbound, under Highway 401, was expected to be closed for 24 hours due to flooding. Images from the police force showed several partly submerged vehicles in the area.
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.
Elsewhere in the city, Mississauga Fire said they were conducting "numerous rescues" and firefighters were checking about 50 cars on a washed-out stretch of road to ensure no one remained stranded in the vehicles.
"We're advising all residents to not travel in affected areas if at all possible," District Chief David Rutka said in a video posted online as floodwaters rushed down a street behind him. "There's extreme flooding throughout streets."
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority issued a flood warning and said shorelines, rivers and streams in the Greater Toronto Area should be considered dangerous.
In southwestern Ontario, provincial police said a portion of Highway 402 was closed for several hours due to flooding but reopened later Tuesday.
In warnings that have since ended, Environment Canada said rainfall amounts of up to 125 millimetres were possible for parts of the Greater Toronto Area, and Hamilton could see up to 50 mm.
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority said more than 100 mm of rain had fallen in pockets across Toronto.
– With files from Rianna Lim.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.
Jordan Omstead and Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
