TORONTO – After recurring rainstorms in Toronto in recent weeks, some Toronto homeowner is trying to save his property from ongoing erosion.
Mario Facca’s Toronto home backs on to a ravine on Whitburn Crescent near Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West. After a recent storm, he found much of his backyard had washed away.
“When I saw it, I almost got a heart attack because I never thought something would happen in my backyard,” he said.
A storm two weeks ago dumped a record 126 mm of rain on Toronto in just a few hours, causing flooding and damage across the city.
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Facca has lived in the home for close to 44 years and says in all that time, he’s witnessed no soil erosion.
Now, he says, he’s worried about losing his property and wants to figure out who will pay for repairs. The Toronto Conservation Authority – which is responsible for the ravine – said it may be able to help but gives no guarantees and no cost estimates.
“I don’t want to give people cause for concern, saying, ‘No, we won’t pay for anything,’ but we really are in that assessment process,” said Laurien Farrell, a spokeperson for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
The conservation authority said it isn’t liable for erosion damage but said if it does have to pay for repairs, the city of Toronto may have to pay some of the damages.
The erosion isn’t isolated to Facca’s property. Nikki Paglia, a nearby homeowner, saw much of her backyard wash into a nearby ravine.
Most insurance doesn’t cover erosion. Pete Karageorgos, a spokesperson for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said homeowners may have to sue the conservation authority to get money.
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