Flooding from storm turns Toronto streets into rivers

The effects of heavy rain that drenched the city overnight are still being felt Wednesday morning.

There is no subway service on Line 1 between Finch West and Wilson stations due to flooding. Shuttle buses are currently running.

The TTC says the flooding has affected about 400 feet of track and three feet of water is being pumped off the track and signals. An electrician will have to be called in to check the signals before service is restored.

The closure could last until 1 p.m.

The King 504 route also continues to detour after massing flooding caused a streetcar to be submerged on King Street West near Atlantic Avenue.

Heavy rain caused extensive flooding across Toronto and a widespread power outage in North York on Tuesday night.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Toronto as they anticipated up to 100 millimetres of rain overnight, but it ended just before midnight. Billy Bishop airport recorded 72 millimetres of rain while Pearson airport received six millimetres.

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said they responded to several incidents of flooding across the city.

First responders were kept busy all night with incidents including saving two men stuck in an elevator with six feet of water in it in the area of Alliance Avenue and Rockcliffe Boulevard. Toronto police said when the men were rescued, only a foot of air remained. Neither of the men were injured.

Toronto police responded to flooding in the area of Keele Street and Highway 401 with several cars getting stuck. Basements were flooded in the Keele Street and Wilson Avenue area. One resident said he had about a metre of water in his basement.

One person tweeted a video of water gushing down the stairs in the stairwell of a condo on Queens Quay.

The marine unit was also called after four vehicles became stuck with occupants still in the cars at Lower Simcoe Street and Bremner Boulevard. Video below courtesy of Dana Bush.

Several road closures were also reported. Lake Shore Boulevard was closed between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue, while the Don Valley Parkway was closed at the Gardiner/Don Roadway.

There were also reports of a leak in the Rogers Centre roof with water pouring onto the seats along the right field line in the upper deck. Vehicles were having trouble leaving the area around the Rogers Centre as well.

A video on Twitter also showed extensive flooding under a bridge at Davenport and Caledonia Park roads.

A power outage affected around 16,000 customers in North York but it was restored just before midnight. Hydro One said they lost power at the Finch Transmission station, but crews were able to restore power.

Toronto Hydro were also attending to smaller weather-related power outages across the city. Click here for the outage map.

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