Highway and major roads flooded by torrential rain in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — A major highway, several other arteries and a major transit hub were flooded in Toronto as torrential rains pounded Canada’s largest city Tuesday, causing power outages in several areas.

Toronto police said part of the Don Valley Parkway, which runs from the city’s north end to downtown, was closed due to flooding. They also said part of Lakeshore Boulevard, which runs along Lake Ontario, was flooded and closed.

Toronto Fire Services said it rescued 14 people from flooding on the highway.

“We are actively rescuing people who are trapped in their cars or on the roof of their cars,” Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters this afternoon. “We are triaging based on the safety of the people.”

Tima Nizomov is among those stranded on the Don Valley Parkway. The 26-year-old said he had to wait in his BMW, surrounded by water, until firefighters arrived.

“There was a lot of water but … my car got stuck and that was it,” he said, recalling his decision to stay in his vehicle as the water rose around him. “The firefighters helped me.”

Rapper Drake shared a video on Instagram that appears to show flooding at his mansion.

“It better be an Espresso Martini,” he wrote of the brown water.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his basement flooded.

In the heart of downtown, flooding occurred at Union Station, a major transit terminal. Water pooled on the floor of a main concourse, and stores in the station were closed. Parts of the underground PATH network, which includes shops and restaurants and connects to Union Station, were also closed due to flooding, and stores were without power for a time.

Subway trains were not stopping at Union, the Toronto Transit Commission said in the afternoon, while several buses and streetcars were detouring from their regular routes through the city due to localized flooding.

The flooding has also disrupted life in many other parts of the Toronto area, with provincial police warning of flooding on parts of highways and local police forces urging caution.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority said shorelines, rivers and creeks should be considered hazardous. It added that more than 10 centimetres (4 inches) of rain had fallen in some areas of Toronto.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the number of Toronto Hydro customers without power had fallen to about 109,000 by late afternoon.