Toronto Flooding: Cars Stuck On Waterlogged Roads, Heavy Showers Cause Power Outages

A number of areas in Toronto, Canada, experienced excessive flooding and power outages due to heavy rains that continued through Tuesday night.

A statement on the weather system in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, was issued at around 9 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, by Environment Canada. Citizens of Toronto were warned there could be 25-50 millimeters of rain within an hour, with some localities receiving double the amount of precipitation. Toronto's west end and the area near Pearson International Airport were expected to receive the highest showers in the region.

“Motorists should be prepared for sudden, very low visibility in downpours and ponding of water on roads,” the statement said, Global News reported. However, car owners had to face more inconvenience than just low visibility while on roads. Toronto police received multiple calls to assist motorists out of their vehicles which had become stuck in flooded areas.

At 10 p.m. EDT, the weather service ended the advisory for Mississauga and Brampton, while it expired for Toronto at 11:30 p.m. EDT, as the service noted that the heavy showers had moved out over Lake Ontario.

Photos and videos on social media conveyed the extent of flooding in Toronto, including structural damage in some cases:

Three vehicles reportedly got stuck under a bridge on Wilson Street near Dubray Avenue, east of Keele Street, due to flooding. A spokesperson for the police confirmed they were able to rescue the people stuck inside the cars.

“Fire department arrived on time and got all the people out safely, there are no reported injuries,” Sgt. Claudio Martelluzzi said. “At this time, the water is receding from its highest point. We’re just glad that there are no injuries.”

He added that a portion of Wilson Avenue had to be closed off. “Some people have to walk through as they have to get home but the sidewalk is about 2 feet flooded so in the middle [of the bridge] we’re looking at about eight feet of water,” he said.

A similar situation was observed with four cars trapped with occupants inside at Lower Simcoe and Bremner and two to three vehicles stuck in the areas of Dovercourt Road and Dupont Street. Word is still pending on the condition of the occupants of these vehicles.

By 11 p.m. EDT, firefighters were responding to as many as 98 distress calls, Toronto Fire services Chief Matthew Pegg said. So much so that both the police as well the fire department tweeted out requesting people to only call 911 in case of emergencies.

Parts of the Don Valley Parkway and Lake Shore Boulevard West were closed due to flooding and TTC buses were diverted in some areas.

The heavy flooding also downed powerlines that left thousands of local residents without power. Hydro One, one of the Toronto’s major power suppliers confirmed that 16,000 of its customers lost power during active downpour in areas such as Finch Station, Steeles Avenue to the south, Sheppard Avenue, Islington Avenue and Dufferin Street. The situation was, however, eventually salvaged as power was restored to a number of affected areas.

“The Hydro One crews have now been dispatched to Finch Station, they should be arriving momentarily if they haven’t already,” a spokesperson for Hydro One, Jay Armitage, told CP24. “It will be too early at this point to understand why we lost power to Toronto Hydro.”