Massive hailstorm, torrential rain batter Toronto as 100-year storm floods streets; watch video

A severe thunderstorm swept through Toronto recently, bringing intense rain and hail over several hours.

At the height of the storm, tens of thousands of residents lost power as the Don River overflowed its banks, forcing the closure of parts of the Don Valley Parkway. Homes were flooded, trees and power lines were brought down, while subway and Toronto Island ferry services were suspended.

Watch video:

Global News meteorologist Ross Hull said Toronto typically receives around 78 mm of rainfall throughout August. However, some parts of the city recorded 150 mm in just a few hours on Wednesday night.

By Thursday morning, sunny conditions had returned and the city had begun drying out.

“The storm has passed,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said at an event Thursday morning.

“I want to assure the people of Toronto, we were prepared, ours teams were coordinated and we will keep working until every road is clear and every resident has power back.”

Power restored, roads reopen

Chow said around 90 per cent of affected homes had their electricity restored, while the Don Valley Parkway had also reopened.

She urged residents dealing with flooding or other storm-related problems to contact the city's 311 service for assistance.

The Canadian National Exhibition was open on Thursday morning, while public transit and city-run summer camps were operating as scheduled, Chow said.

City manager Paul Johnson said the amount of rainfall met Toronto's criteria for a “100-year storm”.

Don River bears brunt of flooding

Johnson noted that a similar storm in 2005 prompted the city to strengthen flood mitigation and protection measures, which he said had helped during the latest event.

“The Don River took the brunt” of the storm, Johnson told reporters.

Although the storm caused sewage-related impacts and left some swimming pools closed, Johnson said the city was rapidly restoring services.

“By and large, the City of Toronto today, all of our services and operations are back to normal,” he told reporters.

“We encourage people who have issues with city services or things that have happened, whether it is trees down in the neighbourhood or whatever, call 311.”

Nearly 1,500 fire department calls

Toronto officials said they received around 1,000 requests for service following the storm.

Fire officials, meanwhile, reported just under 1,500 calls over a 24-hour period. They said it was the second-highest daily call volume recorded by the department, behind only the 2013 ice storm.