Toronto fire crews responded to more than 1,000 calls after destructive storm, mayor says
The Latest
- The Greater Toronto Area is cleaning up a day after a heavy thunderstorm damaged buildings, closed roads and knocked out power.
-
asserted
thunderstorm → respond → power
Toronto Fire Services responded to "just shy of" 1,500 calls in a 24-hour period, the second-highest volume in the department's history, fire Chief Jim Jessop said.
asserted
Jessop → respond → history
- Toronto Hydro says about 6,000 customers remain without power in the city, down from a peak of 65,000.
asserted
customers → say → 65,000
run by the province's Crown-owned power supplier, Hydro One, shows more than 40,000 customers outside Toronto without power.
asserted
run → own → power
- Several major roads remain closed, including the Gardiner Expressway and Bayview Avenue.
asserted
roads → remain → Expressway
The Don Valley Parkway has reopened.
asserted
Parkway → reopen → ?
- In Vaughan, Ont., Huntington Road is closed indefinitely because of a large sinkhole.
asserted
Road → close → sinkhole
Toronto Hydro working through damage
asserted
Hydro → work → damage
About 65,000 Toronto Hydro customers had lost power at the storm's peak; that figure is now down to about 6,000, said Dan Smart, Toronto Hydro's vice-president of distribution operations.
asserted
Smart → lose → operations
In addition to public safety, the utility is prioritizing the safety of its workers who are repairing extensive damage caused by large trees and branches.
asserted
who → prioritize → trees
Smart said he has heard reports of trees eight feet in diameter resting on lines and taking down poles.
asserted
trees → say → poles
"We do have a really, really high volume of calls that we are still working our way through," he said as he asked for the public's patience.
Smart advised anyone encountering downed wires to stay 10 metres back and report them through the Toronto Hydro dispatch line at 416-542-8000.
asserted
Smart → have → 8000
Northbound DVP lanes reopened
asserted
lanes → reopen → ?
The northbound Don Valley Parkway lanes have now been reopened, the City of Toronto said, about an hour after southbound lanes were cleared for driving.
asserted
lanes → reopen → driving
The highway had been closed since last night, when the Don River caused severe flooding.
asserted
River → close → flooding
"Crews are still performing cleanup operations to restore service to the Southbound DVP ramp to northbound Bayview Avenue," the city said in an update.
asserted
city → perform → update
Toronto firefighters rescued people who were trapped on collapsed scaffolding, inside elevators, in water and from partially collapsed buildings, fire Chief Jim Jessop said.
asserted
Jessop → rescue → buildings
He said, in all, Toronto Fire Services responded to "just shy of" 1,500 calls in a 24-hour period, the second-highest volume in the department's history after the 2013 ice storm.
asserted
Services → say → storm
Firefighters worked in co-ordination with paramedics, police and hydro workers amid the flurry of 911 calls — which at one point rose to 400 active calls, Jessop said.
asserted
Jessop → work → calls
He said the "unsung heroes" were the dispatchers taking and fielding those calls.
asserted
heroes → say → calls
"Those are the heroes behind the scenes who co-ordinated the entire emergency services responses seamlessly, collaboratively and co-operatively," Jessop said.
asserted
Jessop → co → responses
"The very fact that we have not had any major, significant injuries or fatalities shows that the system worked."
asserted
system → show → injuries
A '100-year storm'
This storm was unique because of how much rain fell across this much of Toronto, said city manager Paul Johnson.
asserted
Johnson → fall → Toronto
The amount ranged from 11 millimetres to 110 millimetres, but wide areas got large amounts of it.
asserted
areas → range → it
The storm track started in the Willowdale neighbourhood, moving southeast through Don Mills and exiting through the Scarborough-Guildwood area, with those neighbourhoods each receiving 100 to 110 millimetres of rain.
"That's what we would declare as a 100-year storm," he said, which refers to a severe rainfall event that has a one per cent — or one in 100 — chance of occurring in any one year.
asserted
that → start → year
The city began preparing for the storm on Monday, said Johnson, adding that level of preparation led to the city's quick response last evening.
asserted
level → begin → response
He compared yesterday's storm to the one in 2005, which brought tornadoes to southern Ontario and major storms to Toronto.
asserted
which → compare → Toronto
The city did serious work on flood mitigation and protection for residents after that event, he said, which is why there were much fewer calls about basement flooding this time around.
asserted
which → do → flooding
"I'm pleased to say that those have been working," said Johnson.
asserted
Johnson → say → ?
Fire services responded to 1,000 calls:
asserted
services → respond → calls
Chow says city crews were prepared when Wednesday's storm hit.
asserted
storm → say → ?
She said Toronto Fire Services responded to more than 1,000 calls — its second-highest number in a single day — and rescued people from flooded roads.
asserted
Services → say → roads
The mayor thanked public servants who worked through difficult conditions, noting that TTC drivers worked to get passengers home safely while 311 operators handled an "overwhelming number of calls."
"The storm has passed and I want to assure the people of Toronto: we were prepared, our teams were co-ordinated and we will keep working until every road is clear and every resident has power back," Chow said.
asserted
Chow → thank → power
Chow said the city's solidarity in the midst of the storm showed "how caring, safe and strong Toronto is when we come together and work together."
asserted
we → say → storm
"We look out for one another, checking in on a neighbour, watching for someone vulnerable, lending a hand."
asserted
We → look → hand
- Hanna Lee
A fallen tree destroyed this Toronto resident's backyard
asserted
tree → destroy → backyard
Toronto resident Noah Peck Williamson's backyard was damaged by the storm when a bolt of lightning struck a tree, causing it to fall and crush most of the furniture outdoors.
asserted
it → damage → furniture
"It was quite shocking, to be honest," he told CBC's Metro Morning.
asserted
he → tell → Morning
He says he was on his way home as it happened, "paddling" on his electric bike through flooded roads when his roommate called him.
asserted
roommate → say → him
Williamson compared the downpour in Toronto to 1999, when the mayor called in the military to help dig the city out, after it was hit by several monster snowstorms.
asserted
it → compare → snowstorms
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
