UMVA has learned that a severe storm brought widespread destruction across the Greater Toronto Area, leaving thousands without power and causing numerous emergency incidents.
The storm, which hit on Saturday, brought high winds and heavy rain, knocking down trees and disrupting power lines, with Toronto Hydro reporting 145 "power events" since Saturday, mostly due to downed lines and trees striking wires.
Environment Canada reported that the city centre received around 50 mm of rain, leading to significant disruptions, and Toronto Fire Services responded to over 670 emergency incidents in the last 24 hours, a 36% increase in calls compared to a typical day.
The emergency incidents included a 300% surge in HAZMAT/CBRNE calls and water-related emergencies, with Toronto Fire Services' Communications teams coordinating emergency response efforts and supporting crews across the city.
Toronto Hydro officials stated that they were working to safely restore power to all affected customers, saying "we know it's not easy being without power and thank everyone for their continued patience as our crews work to safely restore power to all affected customers after yesterday's challenging weather conditions."
By Sunday evening, Hydro Toronto's outage map showed about a dozen scattered outages in its service area, spanning from south Etobicoke to northwest Scarborough, but officials said they had already "assessed and restored" a majority of the outages.
Hydro One, meanwhile, was dealing with over 50 scattered outages from the northern edge of the GTA to Barrie, with crews continuing to restore power after strong winds and heavy rain across south and central Ontario.
The damage included downed lines from fallen trees, and some customers, especially in hard-hit or remote areas like Newmarket, Bracebridge, and Parry Sound, may not have had their power restored by nighttime.
In addition to the power outages, the heavy rain threat from Saturday's storm led to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority upgrading its flood status to yellow, warning that "flooding and water pooling may occur in flood plains and low-lying areas that do not drain well."
The severe weather also led to the cancellation or postponement of multiple events, including Saturday night's Bruno Mars concert at Rogers Stadium and Sunday's Fallen Firefighter Ceremony on the waterfront.
