Flash Floods hit Toronto

July 8, 2013Updated: July 9, 2013 | 6:25 pm Adjust Text Size Flash floods hit Toronto — more storms in forecast By Jessica SmithMetro Share this Article People wade through flood water on Lakeshore West during a storm in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank GunnPrevious photoNext photo A torrential rainstorm drenched Toronto Monday evening, leaving subway commuters stranded, cars bobbing in water-logged underpasses, the Don Valley Parkway flooded and about 300,000 people without power. Environment Canada reported a record 126 mm of rain fell at Pearson Airport Monday night, and more thunderstorms are in the forecast. It also warned in a special weather statement Tuesday afternoon that strong thunderstorms are a possibility overnight Tuesday throughout Southern Ontario. “A low pressure trough is expected to cross Southern Ontario early Wednesday. Conditions will be favourable for thunderstorms to develop ahead of the trough overnight into Wednesday morning. Some of these storms could contain torrential downpours, damaging winds, and large hail,” Environment Canada said, adding “The location and coverage of the storms is very uncertain.” By 8 p.m. Monday night, the storm was on track to beat a record set by Hurricane Hazel with 106 mm of rain having already fallen. Meteorologist Mark Seifert said, “It’s getting close. The single day record is 121.4 mm, and that dates back to [Hurricane Hazel in] 1954.” The heaviest rain fell between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. yesterday and caused flash flooding across the city. “In the next couple of days there are thunderstorms forecasted,” Seifert says, adding they are expected to be similar “heavy rain producers” to Monday night’s storm, but it is difficult to tell exactly where they will hit and if Toronto will be as seriously affected. With the soil already saturated, the rain could cause further problems, he said. One of the biggest problems occurred Monday night when a GO Train was forced to stop and later flooded near the Bayview extension, causing the police to send a marine unit to rescue passengers who were trapped for hours. The flooding shut down the subways between Downsview and St Clair West, Osgoode and Bloor, Lawrence and Finch and between Ossington and Kipling, as well the entire Sheppard Line. Hydro Toronto reported 300,000 customers without electricity across Toronto Monday night. By early Tuesday morning, only 20,000 were left without power. However, a shortage of power caused by damaged to the system by the storm put an extra 30,000 homes in the dark later in the morning. Police were busy helping “many” people who became trapped in their vehicles after they stalled in floodwaters and others who became trapped in elevators, according to spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond. “We’re urging people to stay on the line if they have an emergency and wait for a call taker to answer,” she says. “911 is for emergencies and we’d like to keep that line available.” Police had also warned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority that the banks of the Don Valley River were at risk of collapse in the Hoggs Hollow area. Tweets from Torontonians about the unexpected rain this evening: Watch as commuters battle knee-deep water at Bayview and Eglinton While drivers brave torrential rain outside Metro Toronto HQ at Church and Bloor ================= PRESS DIGEST-Canada-July 9 Tue, Jul 09 07:01 AM EDT July 9 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL * Toronto's subway lines, as well as numerous traffic lights and street lights went out across the city during a massive thunderstorm. Environment Canada said some parts of the greater Toronto area had been drenched with more than 100 millimeters of rain. () * Hundreds of passengers were stranded on a flooded GO Transit train for nearly seven hours after heavy rains dumped a record level of rainfall on the city Monday evening. () * Edward Burkhardt, the chairman of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the company at the center of a devastating blast, is accusing firefighters of shutting down the locomotive hours before it rolled into Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. () Reports in the business section: * Canada's oil industry faces the risk of tightened regulations on fuel shipments following Saturday's Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, just as companies are relying on rails to get rising production volumes to market. () * The horrific explosion and widespread destruction of the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, caused by a runaway train carrying 72 cars of crude oil early Saturday morning, has suddenly put Edward Burkhardt and his holding company, Rail World Inc, under intense glare. () * Real estate firm Royal LePage expects Canadian house prices to remain soft for almost another year. But the bottom line in a new survey is that they'll continue to rise. Just at a slower pace. () NATIONAL POST * Death toll in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster rose to 13 after the provincial police announced that eight more bodies had been found on Monday. About 50 people have been declared missing after the explosions and fire that devastated much of the downtown. () * Toronto was hit with heavy rains, flooding and power outages Monday afternoon as a sudden storm drenched the city and brought transit to a standstill. () * The opposition New Democrats called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to clean house on Monday after allegations in a court document that key advisers and a Conservative senator were aware of a plan for Harper's right-hand man to personally help Senator Mike Duffy repay C$90,000 ($85,200) in improper expense claims. () FINANCIAL POST * Chicago-based businessman Edward Burkhardt and the staff at one of his companies, little-known Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA), are being vilified after one of the deadliest train accidents Canada has ever seen. () * Investors and analysts will likely have some tough questions for BlackBerry's new chief executive Thorsten Heins and the board regarding the company's strategy at its annual general meeting on Tuesday. Investors will also be looking for some insight into whether the Q5 smartphone will come to North America, and what the company's device pipeline looks like for the rest of 2013 and beyond. () * Companies are pulling back on their investment plans and keeping hiring modest amid growing uncertainty over the economic recovery, a Bank of Canada survey of business intentions suggests. () ================= PRESS DIGEST-Canada-July 9 Tue, Jul 09 07:01 AM EDT July 9 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL * Toronto's subway lines, as well as numerous traffic lights and street lights went out across the city during a massive thunderstorm. Environment Canada said some parts of the greater Toronto area had been drenched with more than 100 millimeters of rain. () * Hundreds of passengers were stranded on a flooded GO Transit train for nearly seven hours after heavy rains dumped a record level of rainfall on the city Monday evening. () * Edward Burkhardt, the chairman of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the company at the center of a devastating blast, is accusing firefighters of shutting down the locomotive hours before it rolled into Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. () Reports in the business section: * Canada's oil industry faces the risk of tightened regulations on fuel shipments following Saturday's Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, just as companies are relying on rails to get rising production volumes to market. () * The horrific explosion and widespread destruction of the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, caused by a runaway train carrying 72 cars of crude oil early Saturday morning, has suddenly put Edward Burkhardt and his holding company, Rail World Inc, under intense glare. () * Real estate firm Royal LePage expects Canadian house prices to remain soft for almost another year. But the bottom line in a new survey is that they'll continue to rise. Just at a slower pace. () NATIONAL POST * Death toll in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster rose to 13 after the provincial police announced that eight more bodies had been found on Monday. About 50 people have been declared missing after the explosions and fire that devastated much of the downtown. () * Toronto was hit with heavy rains, flooding and power outages Monday afternoon as a sudden storm drenched the city and brought transit to a standstill. () * The opposition New Democrats called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to clean house on Monday after allegations in a court document that key advisers and a Conservative senator were aware of a plan for Harper's right-hand man to personally help Senator Mike Duffy repay C$90,000 ($85,200) in improper expense claims. () FINANCIAL POST * Chicago-based businessman Edward Burkhardt and the staff at one of his companies, little-known Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA), are being vilified after one of the deadliest train accidents Canada has ever seen. () * Investors and analysts will likely have some tough questions for BlackBerry's new chief executive Thorsten Heins and the board regarding the company's strategy at its annual general meeting on Tuesday. Investors will also be looking for some insight into whether the Q5 smartphone will come to North America, and what the company's device pipeline looks like for the rest of 2013 and beyond. () * Companies are pulling back on their investment plans and keeping hiring modest amid growing uncertainty over the economic recovery, a Bank of Canada survey of business intentions suggests. ()