Heavy rains cause flooding near Kitchener mall

TORONTO – Heavy rain caused flooding in the parking lot of Kitchener’s Fairview Park Mall.

The mall’s parking lot was flooded for a few hours Friday afternoon but as of 3:30 p.m., the water had started to recede.

Several photos circulated on Twitter Friday afternoon showing water reaching the top of the wheels of some vehicles.

A low-pressure system with a moist air mass hung over the Kitchener area on Friday causing persistent precipitation.

Kitchener is also under a severe thunderstorm warning and Environment Canada is calling for up to 50 mm of rain.

Leah Landriault, the Marketing Manager of Fairview Park Mall, said in a telephone interview Friday that the mall never closed and is currently cleaning up the water that had seeped in through the doors from the flooded parking lot.

But the Sears inside the mall did close due to flooding.

Landriault says mall officials have yet to begin assessing any damage but haven’t received any specific notices of damage.