Toronto: Heavy rainfall in Toronto flooded highways, shuttered parts of the subway and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of residents on Tuesday.
A rainfall warning was issued for Canada’s largest city as torrential rain and thunderstorms swept the area.
As much as 125 millimeters (4.9 inches) could fall, more than the city received in all of July last year.
Rapidly rising rivers and creeks can sweep away bridges and people, Environment and Climate Change Canada warned in a statement.
Video posted on social media showed commuters wading through ankle-high water at Toronto’s bustling Union Station. Outside, water cascaded down the steps and surged from a nearby sewage drain.
Other videos showed cars submerged in downtown Toronto and at a standstill on Lake Shore Boulevard, the major artery that runs alongside Lake Ontario.
Deserted
The rainfall washed out highway lanes including the Don Valley Parkway — one of the country’s busiest freeways — while shuttering subway stations and bus routes.
Subway service was suspended in the downtown area and the Gardiner Expressway, the main artery out of the area, was deserted.
Toronto Hydro was responding to widespread outages throughout the city.
There were about 174,500 customers affected by outages as of 1:34pm, according to the utility’s power failure website. Other utilities reported outages in suburbs surrounding Toronto.
Paths that connect portions of the city’s financial district were also shuttered as rain water leaked through doorways and ceilings.
Subway service was suspended in much of the downtown core due to a power failure.
On the social media platform X, Toronto’s Pearson airport said it recorded 26 millimeters of rain in a 10 minute-span. Just before 2pm, the rain appeared to be stopping downtown and the sun appeared.
Mayor Olivia Chow said the city will review prevention mechanisms for major weather events following the downpour. “For too long, we have not fixed our aging infrastructure like the Gardiner Expressway,” she said.
The Toronto storm was the tail end of a line of severe thunderstorm swept the US Midwest Monday, touching off tornado warnings in Chicago. Meanwhile there is an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms, which can bring high winds and hail, across Upstate New York including Buffalo and Syracuse. New York City may also see thunder later Tuesday, the US National Weather Service said.
