A severe thunderstorm flooded streets and parking lots in Peterborough on Thursday.
Heavy rains caused localized flooding in the city’s south and central areas, prompting some roads to be closed after more than 23 millimetres fell over a five-hour span.
Among the hardest hit areas were The Parkway and a section of Lansdowne Street where emergency crews spent Thursday evening responding to calls and assisting stranded motorists. A number of parking lots including sections of the Parkway Plaza on Lansdowne were flooded.
A section of downtown on George Street had flash flooding, causing headaches for many drivers.
Peterborough police asked motorists and pedestrians to stay away from the area.
“Due to copious amounts of rainfall in a short period of time, Peterborough city is experiencing flooding on several streets,” police stated.
“It is encouraged to stay off the streets at this time to avoid any more motorists being stranded on city streets. Thanks for your assistance.”
There were no reports of serious injuries.
Environment Canada’s severe thunderstorm warning was lifted around 9:15 p.m.
The City of Peterborough reported Friday that a monitoring station in the area of Sherbrooke Street and Clonsilla Avenue recorded 66 millimetres of rain in an hour on Thursday evening.
The city also said there were 74 calls for service for catch basins and four calls about stormwater retention ponds exceeding capacity. There were also two reports of downed trees.
Maintenance on Beavermead Park beach and Rogers Cove beach was completed on Friday to repair damage from the storm, the city reported.
Officials expect further cleanup and maintenance work to con
It is expected that cleanup and maintenance work will continue over the weekend in response to any new calls for service regarding City infrastructure and flood reduction measures.
Prior to the storm’s arrival, the Otonabee Conservation Authority issued a flood warning for the region.
— more to come