Rain, rain go away. No, seriously. Please?
Toronto islands, beaches take the brunt of relentless downfall, and more is on the way
Looking out from the window of his home, Michael Page, a 35-year-resident of Ward’s Island, sees duck-filled ponds where there was formerly dry land.
The already swamped Toronto Islands got even worse Thursday as a record-breaking amount of rain fell on the city, causing Environment Canada to issue a heavy rain alert that lasted from morning to midafternoon.
Environment Canada said the Toronto Island station received close to 55 millimetres of rain between Wednesday and Thursday evening. On Thursday alone, the agency’s Pearson station received close to 40 millimeters of rain, breaking the previous record set in 1953 of 34.3 millimetres.
“We’re sinking,” Page said. “It’s raining like crazy and there’s no sign of it really letting up.”
The crawlspace beneath his home has about 36 centimetres of water in it, said Page, adding he’s lucky there’s nothing of value in it.
Many of his neighbours in a similar situation have heating units and heat pumps in their crawlspace, which are now badly damaged, he said.
Worse still, Page added, is the mould that will likely flourish because of the flooding.
“This whole mould issue is a really big health issue and everyone in our house has allergies,” he said.
City spokesperson Wynna Brown said the latest rainfall has caused more flooding on Toronto Island Park, which is being monitored closely.
“There have been impacts on residences which vary depending on specific site conditions,” said Brown, adding the city has been working to mitigate the effects by using large industrial pumps to remove surface pooling and employing 25,000 sandbags.
The situation on the mainland wasn’t quite as dire Thursday, but flooding caused the closure of some roads, including a portion of the Bayview Extension and an area near Kew Gardens.
Meanwhile, at the already-waterlogged Woodbine Beach, water levels pushed even higher.
The “pond” that had formed on the beach in recent weeks was gone, with any remaining portions of dry land consumed by the lake, and an offleash dog park near Kew Gardens that borders the lake was completely submerged.
On portions of the boardwalk, water swelled between the wooden planks with every step; on others, waves crashed into the side and sent spray more than a metre into the air, soaking unlucky walkers and joggers. The Leuty Lifeguard Station, a heritage building, sat in a massive puddle.
“I have never seen anything like this,” Beach resident Lynn Wilsher said Thursday evening as she looked out at the roiling water.
“I’ve just walked around in a daze. It’s crazy for the lake to come up on the beach. “It’s consuming the beach.” Another Beach resident, Henry Ing, said he’s lived in the neighbourhood for 35 years and has never seen the lake this high.
“We’ve always had break walls and they’ve always worked,” he said, adding he was worried about whether the boardwalk would survive such a major soaking.
“I love rain, rain is good for the earth, but I don’t know if the city’s infrastructure is ready,” he said. “It’s kind of spectacular.”
Ing’s friend, Steve Rickard, also lives in the neighbourhood and said he wished there was more communication from the city about what it was doing — if anything — to protect area homes, and what the city plans to do if the water continues to move inland.
“When do they start putting down sandbags? When do they start making preparations?” Rickard asked.
“They should let us know what they would do (if it gets worse). We should know.”