Torrential rains flood Toronto, cause power cuts and disrupt traffic

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Torrential rain on Tuesday triggered flash flooding in parts of Toronto, Canada's financial center, causing power outages, disrupting traffic and forcing airlines to curtail service.

Vehicles drive on the flooded Dundas Street in Toronto, Canada, July 16, 2024. /CFP

Toronto Hydro, the local power distribution company, said it was responding to scattered outages that it suspected were caused by flooding at a transmission station. At 3 p.m., about 123,000 customers were without power, it said.

Billy Bishop Airport on an island off downtown Toronto said the underwater pedestrian tunnel leading to the passenger terminal was flooded and temporarily closed. Some flights were also delayed or canceled.

Rescuers help a man trapped on the flooded Dundas Street in Toronto, Canada, July 16, 2024. /CFP

At lunchtime, many of downtown Toronto's normally bustling restaurants were darkened, with kitchen workers and waiters gathered outside, chatting and waiting for the lights to come back on. With traffic lights out, cars and delivery trucks backed on city streets, snarling some intersections.

Across the world, intense rain storms are becoming more common because of climate change, weather experts say, putting a heavy strain on infrastructure that in many cities is not designed to handle heavy, sustained downpours.

The Toronto Transit Commission, which operates subway, bus and trolley services, said trains were bypassing Union Station, the city's main rail terminal. Go Transit, which operates a train service to and from Toronto's suburbs, said the flooding had caused some disruptions.

(Cover: Cars stranded on the flooded Dundas Street in Toronto, Canada, July 16, 2024. /CFP)

Source(s): Reuters