Today's thunderstorm caused flooding and wind damage all over Toronto
Seven years to the day since Toronto experienced its most-expensive natural disaster in history, residents of the city are once again cleaning up after flash floods and severe thunderstorms — many of them without power.
While not nearly as bad as the weather event that hit Toronto on July 8 of 2013, today's storm did cause a significant amount of property damage.
Yikes! Heavy rain is causing a parking garage in Etobicoke to flood - 📹 @iamdave79 #Etobicoke #ONStorm #floodTO pic.twitter.com/tJPU2bWm1B
— blogTO (@blogTO) July 8, 2020
Not to mention plant damage.
This tree on High Park Avenue did not survive the onslaught #ONStorm @311Toronto pic.twitter.com/Z3QWhutSzF
— K2Harvey (@k2harvey) July 8, 2020
Wild eyewitness photos and videos are, as always, plentiful.
Still idiots. #FloodTo banged his bumper pic.twitter.com/yHkaf8c8uY
— Matty 🍁 (@mattytoophatty) July 8, 2020
Even before the rain started falling, Toronto Twitter users were sharing footage of a scary-looking sky — one made all the scarier by Environment Canada's (now cleared) tornado watch.
Is that rotation? Caught it before the sky ripped open. #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/HG5zg7FMEE
— seishina (@seishina) July 8, 2020
Within minutes of the storm hitting west Toronto, locals were reporting vicious high winds.
#ONStorm — East to west gusts pic.twitter.com/2BUAMuXlz2
— Kirsten Dean (@kirstenmdean) July 8, 2020
Low-lying roads near Lake Ontario started flooding almost immediately.
Major flooding on Lakeshore Blvd West by Sunnyside. @311Toronto @CP24 #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/LtdRwnyZ1Q
— Alfred Lam (@AlfredLam) July 8, 2020
Lakeshore Boulevard looked more like a boat launch than a major expressway at one point.
@CP24 Lakeshore right now near Ontario Place! pic.twitter.com/igmGuZg2mn
— Kabir Bageria (@kabirbageria) July 8, 2020
And plenty of vehicles were held up by the onslaught of rain...
Lakeshore Boulevard right now! 😳 #ONstorm pic.twitter.com/hVeVL2mi7m
— Paul Kulig (@PaulKulig_TO) July 8, 2020
Including a TTC bus.
Update: The TTC bus made it through the Humber River expansion. #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/35BMJK1WeX
— Andrea Bellemare (@andreabellemare) July 8, 2020
Toronto Police announced around 3 p.m. that they were receiving reports of a "car floating away" and of a "person in a canoe on roadway."
HAZARD:
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) July 8, 2020
*2:48 pm*
Keele St + Lawrence Ave
- reports of flooding
- please avoid low-lying roadways
- reports of car floating away
- reports of person in a canoe on roadway#GO1262923
Storm drains stared spewing water back out into the city, forming tiny geysers on city streets.
Meanwhile, at Oakwood ave... pic.twitter.com/3ZT65S5ONV
— Amy Bronson (@AmyBronson) July 8, 2020
And power was lost in many pockets of the city.
We have power thankfully but our neighbours to the north and south don’t. Lots of sirens. #YSW #ONstorm #floodTO pic.twitter.com/B5jLbWad6G
— Kristine Gauthier (@kgauthier7) July 8, 2020
Toronto Hydro's most recent statement indicates that there is a "high volume of outages" across the city, but no specific number has been provided by the company.
Looks like over 15,000 customers in the dark on the west side of Toronto #ONstorm pic.twitter.com/01TGyrWC4S
— Tyler Hamilton (@50ShadesofVan) July 8, 2020
In the wake of the brief storm, residents of the city are working together to clean up what they can.
A little neighborhood cleanup after the #ONStorm.
— Kelly Fricker (@KellysEdu) July 8, 2020
Foxwell St, Rockcliffe-Smythe pic.twitter.com/lVL2NS1a8U
At least it was a relatively fast one this time around, without any rescue boats needed and only a few "shark where it's not supposed to be" jokes.
Kongskie Lukring
