Videos show heavy rain, flooding in Toronto as rainfall warning issued

Article content

Residents have taken to social media to capture the intense stormy weather as Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the City of Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Although heavy rains are expected across southern Ontario, Toronto seemed particularly hard hit, with power outages even being reported in some areas. The ground, which is already near saturation, isn’t able to absorb any more rainfall, according to a statement by Environment Canada.

Article content

“Total rainfall amounts of up to 125 mm are possible with rainfall rates of 40 mm within an hour. This extremely heavy (rainfall) will gradually taper over the next few hours. Rapidly rising rivers and creeks can sweep away bridges, culverts, buildings, and people,” the statement continued.

“Abandon stalled cars if water is rising rapidly. Keep children and pets away from creeks and river banks. Consider moving valuable items to higher levels.”

In one video posted on X, cars can be seen in downtown Toronto, at York and Harbour streets. They appear to float as they cross the intersection and the water gets deeper.

Article content

In another video, also taken in downtown Toronto and posted on X, water can be seen spilling over the edge of the sidewalk after a car passes by.

Article content

Article content

The Don Valley Parkway near the Richmond Street exit was flooded as the water levels of the Don River continued to rise before noon on Tuesday, a video posted on X showed. Vehicles travelling in both directions were forced to cross through at a slow pace. The video shows an aerial view of the parkway.

Toronto police said the DVP was closed from Bayview Avenue to the Gardiner Expressway due to flooding.

Article content

Another video posted by the same user shows a view from street level, as vehicles are partly submerged by water on Lake Shore Boulevard, while rain continues to pour down. Toronto police said Lake Shore from British Columbia Road to Strachan Avenue was closed in both directions.

Article content

An account that shares weather updates for southern Ontario posted videos to X, showing extreme flooding at King Street and Atlantic Avenue, in Toronto’s Liberty Village area. In one of the videos, a truck and other machinery are partly submerged. In another video, water can be seen filling the area beneath an underpass.

Article content

The Toronto Transit Commission announced several detours and closures due to flooding. Subway trains were not stopping at Union Station, the Canadian Press reported. Meanwhile, Toronto Hydro said in a social media post that it was working with Hydro One to restore “widespread outages” throughout the city

Peel and York Regional Police have both released statements regarding the flooding and are urging drivers to avoid certain areas.

“As always, please drive with caution during inclement weather,” York police wrote in a post on X.

“If your vehicle is surrounded by water, exit the vehicle ASAP,” Peel police wrote in a statement on X.

The pedestrian tunnel at Toronto’s city airport, Billy Bishop, was closed, according to a statement released by the airport around noon.

“All passengers and staff will be redirected to the ferry for access to and from the airport,” the statement said.

Article content

“A snapshot of this afternoon — we see those storms continuing to track east, towards Kingston, the Ottawa valley, so that’s where we’ll see the heavy downpours,” said Weather Network meteorologist Nicole Karkic.

“But, not to be forgotten, by about 7, 8 o’clock, we’ll see — along the shores of Lake Huron — some storms coming back into the picture in a line moving through areas around London, and again, the 401. And then it starts to peter out.”

On Wednesday, there will still be risks of non-severe thunderstorms, said Karkic, but a better evening is expected.

By late Tuesday afternoon, there were no longer any alerts for Toronto by Environment Canada.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.

Article content