A second major rainstorm in just eight days has flooded a key road again, caused a sewage bypass and disrupted transit in the city.
On Wednesday afternoon, a period of heavy rain fell across Toronto, leading to some localized flooding in areas still recovering from a major flood the week before.
Toronto police said that around 2:40 p.m., the Don Valley Parkway at the Bloor Viaduct had flooded, warning drivers to expect delays. One lane was completely underwater, with crews called in to try to get the key travel artery moving.
Lanes reopened around 4:30 p.m.
To the south, lanes on Lake Shore Boulevard were also underwater just before 3 p.m., although the water levels slowly receded over the following hour and the route reopened.
Both routes were closed for hours on Tuesday, July 16, with striking images of the roadway and vehicles submerged and some drivers rescued from their vehicles.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the flooding caused subway trains not to stop at Osgood Station in Toronto’s downtown area.
The City of Toronto said heavy rainfall had “caused a bypass” at one of the city’s sewage treatment plans.
The brief, heavy rain in Toronto came after Environment Canada issued thunderstorm warnings across much of southern and eastern Ontario and parts of Quebec.
The warning said affected areas could see torrential downpours with as much as 50 millimetres of rain falling in an hour. In addition, wind gusts could reach speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour while the storm could also dump nickel-sized hail on the area, the warning said.
The flooding comes just over a week after the city was battered by a historic rainstorm that left thousands without power and saw Union Station flood, alongside a slew of subway stops.
That day also saw 97.8 mm fall at Toronto Pearson airport, making it the fifth rainiest day on record and the highest rainfall in a single day since July 8, 2013.