A severe storm in Toronto dumped more than 10 centimetres of water on the city, causing flash floods, closing a stretch of highway and knocking out power for thousands. Experts say Toronto, and other communities, need to expect more severe weather because of climate change

Toronto

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

A severe storm in Toronto has caused significant disruptions, dumping more than 10 centimetres of water on the city. The heavy rainfall resulted in flash floods, the closure of a key stretch of highway, and widespread power outages affecting thousands of residents.

Motorists and residents faced overwhelming conditions as parts of the city, including underpasses, quickly flooded, stranding drivers and requiring rescues by emergency services. The Don Valley Parkway, a vital highway into downtown Toronto, was particularly impacted, with more than a dozen people needing assistance after becoming trapped in their cars.

In Mississauga, just outside of Toronto, police utilized boats to rescue individuals from submerged vehicles and nursing homes. The storm also paralyzed public transit, leading to the cancellation and severe delay of commuter trains, and partial shutdowns of the subway system. Union Station, Canada's busiest transit hub, experienced significant flooding, resembling a waterfall.

Experts indicate that this event is a result of a combination of factors, including nearly a week of heavy rainfall and infrastructure issues. While predictions anticipated rain, the volumes exceeded expectations, highlighting the ongoing challenges posed by extreme weather events and the need for more adaptive urban planning.



Severe summer storm causes flash floods in Toronto

In a matter of minutes, parts of Toronto became unrecognizable. Hidden by a downpour that suddenly engulfed the streets. Oh my god. I saw water coming out of I'm assuming it was a manhole. I'm not sure. And just like a like a mushroom cloud if you will. And black water just spewing out. Underpasses throughout the city quickly filled stranding drivers. I mean we're used to it in England but this is even more than England so it's pretty crazy. The Don Valley Parkway, a key highway running into the downtown core overrun with water. Toronto Fire forced to rescue more than a dozen people who became trapped in their cars. This is another extreme weather event. The fortunate and unfortunate thing is this is not the first time this has happened. With a powerful storm expected and several roads in Toronto prone to flooding officials were asked why key roadways weren't closed earlier. We knew that the rain was going to come. Certainly the volumes of rain were beyond what was predicted. Just outside of the city in Mississauga police resorting to using boats to search through cars and rescue those who were trapped including residents of this nursing home. The deluge also quickly paralyzed transit across the greater Toronto area. Commuter trains were cancelled or severely delayed. Parts of the subway shut down. Union Station, Canada's busiest transit hub, looked like a waterfall. I think it speaks to a bigger problem though with the failing infrastructure. You can't just blame climate change. Like we have to be agile as a city. Officials also received hundreds of calls about flooded basements. All experts say the result of a perfect storm capping nearly a week of heavy rainfall. Those rainfall rates were 50 millimeters per hour. That's almost a month's worth of rain. Jamie, you're at the site of that highway closure. Can you give us a sense of how things are looking tonight? Well it's weird. You're standing over the Don Valley Parkway. One of the busiest roadways in the city. And it's eerily empty. And you look out and you can see just how quickly and easily this all could have happened. The Don River of course runs right next to the to this busy roadway. It's running very quickly still and quite high. And down on the highway right now you see a couple of emergency vehicles and a lot of debris on the road. And that's what's going to keep it closed for the next number of hours until they get that debris off the road. And off in the distance still a number of cars that were caught up in that quickly moving water earlier today. They'll of course have to be removed before the busy morning rush tomorrow morning.

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