Send this page to someone via email Residents in Toronto are sloshing through the aftermath of a heavy rain storm that caused flash flooding in portions of the city, submerging several vehicles and forcing road closures. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement ahead of the summer storm, warning of the potential for 50 to 100 millimetres of rain Tuesday evening. READ MORE: Heavy rain causes widespread flooding, power outages in Toronto According to a preliminary weather summary issued by Environment Canada on Wednesday after 12:30 a.m., the heaviest rain hit Highways 400 and 401, the area near Allen Road, the downtown core and the Toronto Islands. Story continues below advertisement The weather agency said approximately 50 to 75 millimetres of rain fell in the span of two to three hours across the area. Localized areas may have experienced higher amounts of rainfall. At the peak of the storm, nearly 16,000 customers were without power, according to Toronto Hydro. Police and fire crews responded to several calls of submerged vehicles while two men had to be rescued from an elevator in a commercial building in the city’s north end. READ MORE: Flooding haunts homeowners for years, study finds Toronto police said two people called 911 after 10:50 p.m. to report that they were trapped in an elevator in the basement as water began to fill it. WATCH: Toronto resident says basement a ‘total loss’ following flooding 0:47 Toronto resident says basement a ‘total loss’ following flooding Toronto resident says basement a ‘total loss’ following flooding – Aug 8, 2018 “As the water was rising very, very quickly, they only had about a foot of airspace left inside the elevator and it was completely closed, so officers pried the elevator open and rescued the two men,” spokesperson Katrina Arrogante told Global News. Story continues below advertisement She said the officers had to find a crowbar and swim through the basement to access the elevator. WATCH: Storm brings power outages, flooding to parts of Toronto 1:13 Storm brings power outages, flooding to parts of Toronto Storm brings power outages, flooding to parts of Toronto – Aug 7, 2018 Photos from around the city show the extent of the flooding and its aftermath. Take a look. Like so many residents and workers in our #Downsview community, we are waking up to a nasty surprise this morning, at our constituency office on Wilson Ave. Will update as soon as we check phone lines etc. #TorontoFlood #YorkCentre pic.twitter.com/AMSgH0LZgr — Michael Levitt, MP 🇨🇦 (@LevittMichael) August 8, 2018<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Police officers look on as water floods King St. W. during heavy rain, stopping a streetcar in Toronto on Tuesday, August 7, 2018. Shlomi Amiga/The Canadian Press Toronto is recovering in the aftermath of heavy rains and flash floods that wreaked havoc across the region Tuesday night, showing the city’s aging sewer system’s vulnerability to sudden, extreme weather conditions. Some parts of the city saw 100 millimetres of rainfall in less than two hours during Tuesday’s storm, according to Jennifer Drake, an assistant professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering at the University of Toronto. Major intersections across the city were submerged underwater late on Tuesday night, from Bloor Street and Dufferin Street in the west end, to Bathurst Street and Lake Shore Boulevard in the south. The effects rippled into Wednesday, with the Toronto Transit Commission forced to suspend subway service for the day on a portion of Line 1 owing to flooding at Sheppard West station, and Toronto Hydro reporting several power outages throughout the day, mainly in buildings just to the west of the Don Valley Parkway. Story continues below advertisement Related: Just inches of air left for two men rescued from flooded elevator “It was a large amount of rainfall in a very short amount of time,” Dr. Drake said. The intensity of the storm, she said, is on par with some of the most extreme storms Ontario has ever seen, such as Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which saw a peak two-hour rainfall intensity of 80 to 100 millimetres. A combination of an extreme weather event and the city’s decades-old sewer system exacerbated the level of flooding. And while Tuesday’s storm was rare, it’s expected there will be more in the coming years because of the effects of climate change. The general consensus among scientists, Dr. Drake said, is that Ontario will have more frequent, intense isolated storms. She added that rain events of the size seen on Tuesday exceed the design capacity of the city’s infrastructure, which is why flash floods occurred across Toronto. "We don’t build our pipes that big to handle that much water,” Dr. Drake said. Open this photo in gallery Cars drive along a flooded street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 7, 2018 in this still image taken from video obtained from social media. Narmin/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. SOCIAL MEDIA/Reuters Mayor John Tory told reporters at a campaign event in Scarborough on Wednesday that Toronto is committed to funding stormwater projects. He said the city’s water department is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a “robust plan” for flood mitigation and stormwater sewer improvements, some of it prompted by warnings that climate change is creating more severe weather. Critics of Mr. Tory, however, pointed to his move to shelve a proposed fee last year that would have taxed landowners on hard surfaces, such as parking lots, on their property, because these types of surfaces are most responsible for rain and snow runoff. The money from the tax would have been used for stormwater sewer improvements. Cities in the Greater Toronto Area, including Aurora, Markham, Mississauga and Richmond Hill, have one in place, as do Ottawa, Kitchener and London. Story continues below advertisement Councillor Mike Layton argued in favour of a stormwater tax and said it encourages large property owners to reduce the amount of runoff from their properties, which would help the city’s sewers handle storms. “There [would be] an incentive there for them to go and reduce the amount of stormwater they produce," Mr. Layton said in an interview. Dr. Drake said a stormwater utility charge “should be revisited by the city," as it encourages home and commercial property owners to invest in infrastructure on their land that can help the city manage stormwater. It would also create revenue for continuing infrastructure projects to mitigate the effects of extreme weather conditions across the city. Mr. Tory said all of the city’s water projects were proceeding without the proposed fee and not “one penny” had been removed from the budget for such projects. “The fact is, all of the projects that are extensive in number and extensive in millions of dollars in investment, are proceeding,” Mr. Tory said. “Not one of them has been slowed down or delayed or postponed or cancelled or not proceeded with because of lack of money. They are all budgeted. It was simply a different way of collecting the money.” But Mr. Tory did acknowledge that the fee was still up for discussion. The City of Toronto has several stormwater infrastructure projects included in a 10-year plan, in which $3.1-billion has been allocated for stormwater management, with it being split between a Basement Flooding Protection Program to improve sewer capacity and a Wet Weather Flow Master Plan to improve stormwater quality that is released to the city’s waterways and Lake Ontario, according to Toronto Water manager Frank Quarisa. Transit projects have also lent a helping hand with improving infrastructure in the city. Anne Marie Aikins, a spokesperson for Metrolinx, said several unfinished projects, including the Crosstown LRT along Eglinton, have been instrumental in helping to replace the city’s aging sewer system. Story continues below advertisement “I think there’s always more work to be done, but what I’ve seen is improvement over the last five years because people have been very committed," Ms. Aikins said of replacements to the sewer system aided by transit projects. "They recognize [that] extreme weather is real.” With files from Jeff Gray A post shared by Stu Murray (@s2murray)on Aug 8, 2018 at 4:58am PDT<doc-sep>Tuesday’s rare flash flood spilled a huge amount of raw sewage into Lake Ontario, leaving a repulsive, potentially sickening mess the Star saw first-hand on Thursday. “Ew, that’s disgusting,” said Katrina Wells of Markham, who was waiting for a water taxi to the Toronto Islands when the Star showed her a picture of what was floating in the harbour. “I guess it would be a problem if I fell in the water.” The Star had joined Toronto-based water-monitoring group Swim Drink Fish as it tested water in the harbour for E. coli contamination. The results of those tests won’t be back for at least 24 hours, but levels of the bacterium were already more than 100 times greater than the standard for beach water quality of 100 E.coli bacteria per 100 millilitres of water before Tuesday’s storm. After the flash flood, the results were plain to see: condoms, tampons, feminine hygiene pads, syringes and needles amid a floating mass of gunk. “This is a vital area of the city and we’re just hoping to make the water here swimmable, drinkable and fishable,” said Elise Mackie, community monitoring co-ordinator for the group formerly known as Lake Ontario Waterkeepers. Read more: Toronto infrastructure overwhelmed by rare storm, experts say Toronto politicians can’t hide from the increasingly extreme weather Some of the debris Thursday came from downtown Toronto’s old plumbing system, which carries household waste and whatever gets swept through storm drains in the same pipes — pipes that overflowed Tuesday. Modern cities, and some of Toronto’s younger suburbs, are outfitted with separate sewer systems which segregate human waste and storm water, a setup which became standard in the 1950s and ’60s. Ontario released more than eight million cubic metres of untreated sewage and runoff into its waterways in 2016, according to Environment Canada. “It certainly makes me sad to see it and count it every now and then,” Mackie said. Mackie and a group of volunteers set out every Tuesday and Thursday mornings to sample locations not already monitored by the city. The city of Toronto regularly conducts water monitoring at 11 beaches, but it does not do so on at the rest of the waterfront, where people can regularly be seen fishing, boating and surfing. Toronto Public Health spokesperson Mahesh Patel said waterfront areas such as Humber Bay Park and Harbourfront are not designated as public beaches. Swim Drink Fish president Mark Mattson said the city’s waterfront has undergone a significant revitalization, and more activities are taking place at the harbour. Separating the sewage from rainwater should be a priority going forward, he insisted. “The giant dreams are blossoming here, but they’re running into giant mistakes of the past,” he said, noting the city of Kingston recently spent a lot of money separating its sewage system. “It’s going to take both willingness and imagination of our politicians to fix those mistakes.” Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Swim Drink Fish’s goal is to test water quality and E. coli levels. It takes samples into an incubator at an in-house laboratory and gets results a day later. The group says the findings are often ugly. Since May, 23 samples taken at Bathurst Quay have indicated E. coli levels exceeding recreational water-quality standards, said Mackie. On Aug. 2, the level at Bathurst Quay was more than 10 times greater than the acceptable standard of 100 E. coli bacteria per 100 millilitres (a little under half a cup) of water, set by the provincial Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. On Aug. 7, the day of the storm, results from Marina 4 near Queens Quay and Rees St. registered E. coli levels 249 times greater than the standard, the highest the group has recorded at the location. At Bathurst Quay, E. coli levels were 130 greater than the standard. When levels of the bacteria exceed the standard, seven out of 2,000 people would get sick from ingesting or swimming in that water, said Mackie. “Anything from gastrointestinal sickness, skin rash, ear infections,” she explained. “E. coli is just an indicator of bacteria.” The thought that the water may be contaminated, even on days when it looks clean on the surface, worries Ro Omrow, a scuba diver with Ontario Underwater Explorers. “We generally just used our eyes to test if the water was clean,” he said about his club diving at the Humber Bay shore. Last year he approached Swim Drink Fish about water testing at their diving place, and he has since been bringing in water samples every week. When tests shows the E. coli levels exceed the standards, the group still dives, but they take more precautions, such as showering right after diving, Omrow said. “It would absolutely make a difference if the city did the testing,” he said. “Probably more frequent, and maybe at other diving clubs too.”<doc-sep>Really? No well wishes? Just a partisan dig? This is the best you can muster? Pretty sad. There are flooded basements. People had to be saved. Seriously, why would this be your response? — Lucas Julien (@lucasleojulien) August 8, 2018<doc-sep>
A few pockets of heavy showers continue to affect portions of Toronto but are slowly weakening, Environment Canada said. The federal weather agency said the activity should come to an end before midnight. Earlier on Wednesday the agency issued a special weather statement for Toronto, saying 20 to 40 mm of rain is possible for the city as a warm, humid air mass moves over Southern Ontario. The alert was lifted just after 10 p.m. With the city already soaked from Tuesday's sudden storm, the added rainfall could cause local pooling and flash flooding, the weather agency says. Flight delays, transit issues Meanwhile, Pearson International Airport tweeted Wednesday afternoon that they were experiencing periods of rain and lightning, which may delay flight operations. The TTC is advising customers that due to flooding at Sheppard West Station, subway service between Wilson and Finch West stations will continue to be replaced by shuttle buses, resulting in longer than normal travel times. TTC crews, assisted by Toronto Fire Services, have spent most of the day pumping water from the flooded sections of the station. Line 1: No service between Finch West and Wilson Stations due to flooding. Shuttle buses are running —@TTCnotices "Once clear, electricians and subway crews will inspect and test the equipment that has been under water for several hours," TTC said in a statement, adding crews are working as quickly as possible to restore service. Sheppard West station flooding was the most serious of several weather-related incidents to impact TTC service today, the agency said. Earlier on Wednesday subway service was suspended for about 90 minutes between Bloor and Eglinton stations after storm water contacted a 600v cable causing a small track-level fire, the TTC said. In a written statement Wednesday afternoon, Mayor John Tory urged Torontonians to continue using extra precautions around the city today and tonight as we continue to experience rainfall." He also thanked the first responders, emergency response teams and city staff who "worked non-stop" since last night to keep the city safe and secure. Roadways turn into small rivers Tuesday evening's heavy rain turned roadways into small rivers and stranded vehicles in pooling water. Underpasses were filled with stormwater, while flooding was also reported in condo parking garages, at least one college and a hospital. The downtown location of Brooks Brothers, pictured here, closed because of flooding. People were cleaning up inside early Wednesday. (CBC) Toronto police are reporting one road closure due to significant damage from flooding. Jane Street is closed in both directions from Chalkfarm Drive to Wilson Avenue. The closure is expected to last for some time and there is no estimated time for reopening. George Brown College says it has closed its waterfront campus on Wednesday to non-essential staff, students and all activities because of "extensive flooding" on its main floor and lower levels. The campus will remain closed until Monday. Humber River Hospital says it has temporarily closed some elevators because of rain damage. Water temporarily affected one MRI suite, its chemotherapy clinic and food court. Crews were up all night dealing with the damage, according to hospital CEO Barb Collins. Some transit services returning to regular service Line 1: No service between Finch West and Wilson due to flooding. Shuttle buses are running. An accessible shuttle bus is on stand by at Wilson Station. Additionally, customers can utilize GO transit at Downsview Park to Union Stations. —@TTCnotices Some transit services, however, are now running normally. Regular service has resumed on the UP Express and GO Transit's service to Barrie, according to Anne Marie Aikins, spokesperson for Metrolinx, Ontario's provincial transit agency. Flooding was reported at Union Station on Tuesday night. At Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport on Tuesday night, water pooled in the parking lot. The weather station at airport reported that 72 millimetres of rain fell there, of which 51 mm fell in one hour, according to Environment Canada. The airport is reporting a few delayed flights after the storm and said the weather may affect operations on Wednesday. when i got here the roof of that car was not visible. street car driver says he stopped his train after the car floated in front of him. then he got them out. #onstorm@StormhunterTWN @AnthonyFarnell @TorontoStar @CBCToronto pic.twitter.com/YXXplg7fKR —@earthisanocean As for Toronto Hydro, it reported 16,000 customers in North York were without power at the peak of the storm but power has since been restored.