An 'indoor waterfall' at Union Station: Downtown Toronto flooded as severe storm disrupts life in the region

Heavy rainfall has caused major disruptions across downtown Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area as hundreds of thousands of locals were left without power. A severe storm hit the province of Ontario on Tuesday, causing floods across major streets and highways, including the Don Valley Parkway. Many people in the region captured visuals of submerged vehicles and even an “indoor waterfall” at the Union Station.

These visuals coming out of Canada’s largest city served as a reminder of the July 8, 2013 floods for many, as people wondered why the city was once again unprepared for an event that's likely to halt life as they know it.

“This is like the 2013 Toronto flood all over again. Same exact spots," posted a city based lawyer on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Why did we not get more prepared? We've had 11 years to fix our sewers.

"Hoping everyone is staying safe and avoiding the roads.”

Environment Canada issued a warning Tuesday morning, forecasting up to 110 millimetres of rain expected to fall, with potential rates of 40 mm/h.

The warning emphasized the "heavy downpours” that could cause flash floods and water pooling on roads, and the possibility of localized flooding in low-lying areas.

Why was the DVP kept open so long?

The floods resulted in worsening already struggling Toronto traffic, as major highways and intersections were choked up with flood water, resulting in the Don Valley Parkway being blocked in both directions along with significant disruption around Lakeshore.

Around Tuesday afternoon, locals raised concerns over the DVP remaining open to flowing traffic despite the torrential downpour causing unease for commuters during what is being called an unprecedented weather event for the city.

“These cars will now be forced to reverse backwards up the DVP," wrote another X user. "Dangerous situation unfolding. Why is the highway still open?”

However, it was later closed, per an online weather monitoring account.

More than 150,000 people were left without power due to the severe storm

Toronto Hydro reported they were working closely with Hydro One, an electricity transmission and distribution utility service in Ontario, to tackle widespread outages due to a loss of supply. However, Torontonians began to run out of patience the longer it took for authorities to resolve the situation.

“Fix it already. My basement is flooding !! What is taking so long,” vented a disgruntled local caught in the midst of the floods.

“How is it possible that a city with millions of people can be without power due to a rainstorm - with no warning? I grew up in Newfoundland with far worse weather than this and it took a lot to lose power. And then, we would have warning,” wrote another, drawing a comparison to another Canadian province.

Saloni Sharma, a Toronto-based marketing professional, was in the middle of her work day when her place lost power. She told Yahoo News Canada the interruption forced her to make a last-minute dash to join an important meeting that she eventually ended up missing.

In total, more than 167,000 customers were impacted by the outages causing loss of power, according to CBC News.

The heavy rain system also caused disruptions among major public transits, bringing the TTC and GO Train lines to a halt along with significant road closures across the CVP, Highways 401 and 410, and more.