A very rare rainfall event has left areas of London, Ont., especially in the south end of the city, underwater on Monday and a city spokesperson says it will take some time for roads and parks to return to normal.
Photos and video posted to social media show vehicles partially submerged and leaking buildings as the city’s sewer system struggled to keep up with over 75 mm of rain in an hour’s time.
“That is a very significant rainfall which our systems just aren’t designed to handle,” Ashley Rammeloo, director in the city’s the water, wastewater and storm water division, said Monday.
“To have three inches of rain in a little over an hour, it’s about a less than one per cent chance of it happening in any given year. So it’s not our typical rainfall, that’s for sure.”
One particularly striking video, included above, shows a school bus stopped next to an SUV on a flooded street in the city’s south end, southwest of the White Oaks neighbourhood. In the video, the occupant of the SUV can be seen climbing through the driver’s side window as two people on the bus extend their hands to bring him to safety.
Another video shows flooding behind Sherwood Forest Mall with water reaching to the top of two vehicle’s wheels. Rammeloo noted that the Adelaide Street underpass, currently under construction, also flooded.
City officials and emergency services have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to make note of road closures due to high water levels and travellers have been asked to find alternate routes. Police are also reminding Londoners not to call 911 to report flooding and to instead dial 311 or visit service.london.ca.
Monday’s heavy rain comes on the heels of hurricane Beryl’s remnants soaking the city last week, meaning the ground was already very saturated and couldn’t absorb as much water. That means it will take longer for the water to subside than it would have had the ground been dry.
Rammeloo believes everything will be back to business as usual “over the next few days, if we don’t receive a lot more rain,” but most of the water, especially on city streets, should subside by midday Tuesday.
A positive, she added, was that the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has confirmed to the city that there is capacity at Fanshawe Dam and, as of Monday afternoon, it listed the flood status as green or “normal.” Rammeloo explained that the flooding is entirely due to the capacity of the sewer system and not local waterways.
“For instance, there’s video of a lot of water flowing across Harris Park — again, it’s very, very saturated — but if you look in the videos you can actually see that it is water flowing towards the river, not river flooding coming up into the park.”
In a notice Monday afternoon, the conservation authority said it is operating its “flood control reservoirs at Fanshawe, Wildwood, and Pittock Conservation Areas to reduce downstream peak flows,” and that “discharges below the reservoirs will remain elevated through the week.”
“Parents and guardians are reminded to keep children and pets away from all watercourses and out of any flooded areas. Water is swift-moving and levels high. Do not attempt to drive through flooded roadways,” the UTRCA wrote.
“It is not safe to take shelter along riverbanks or in low lying areas that are prone to flooding.”
Environment Canada issued a weather alert for the region Monday morning as thunderstorms tracked over the area, but as of 3 p.m. Monday, the only weather notice in place locally was a heat warning for the region.
More rain is anticipated Tuesday and Wednesday but the conservation authority noted the expectation is the amounts will not be enough “to increase flows significantly.”