Torrential rains Tuesday hit Canada’s largest city of Toronto, leading to closure of a major highway, roads and a key transit hub, news agency PTI reported.
According to Environment Canada, the city received almost 100mm of rain on Tuesday, surpassing the city’s daily record set in 1941, BBC News reported. Meteorologists have attributed the heavy rains to three consecutive storms that fell on the city, the report stated.
The rains have caused flooding on a part of the Don Valley Parkway, Lakeshore Boulevard, which runs along Lake Ontario, according to the report.
Cars are stranded in a flooded section of Bayview Avenue after heavy rains hit Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 16, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
Flooding has disrupted the lives of people in parts of the Toronto region, with the police urging caution over parts of the highway. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority have declared shorelines, rivers and streams to be “dangerous.”
Not a fun day to be driving in Toronto. 😳 pic.twitter.com/H7leOLv87A
— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) July 16, 2024
According to Toronto Fire Services, 14 people have been rescued from the flooded 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 in the afternoon.
Toronto’s Union Station right now pic.twitter.com/pcdS25Nmcs
— Rapporturd (@rapporturd) July 16, 2024
The rains also caused power cuts in the city. Other locations such as the Union Station, a key transit terminus, and stores within it, parts of the underground PATH network which connects to the station, were all closed due to flooding and power outage.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said that parts of the City Hall were flooded, but emergency services have not been affected.
Vehicles cross a bridge over a flooded section of the Don Valley Parkway and Don River after heavy rains hit Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 16, 2024 (Reuters)
Several transit buses and street cars were seen making detours on their regular routes across the city, whereas subway trains were not halting at the station, PTI quoted the Toronto Transit Commission.
Moreover, according to Toronto Hydro, about 167,000 customers were left without power in the city, and several flights were cancelled or delayed at Billy Bishop Airport, on the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario, according to a BBC report.
