These photos were from the kipling and belfield underpass of the etobicoke north go station
Here's the underpass at Dixie and Lakeshore, part of my normal 10K running route.
(http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.1359241!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_960/image.jpg)
I ran through the ravine that we normally run through yesterday with Fran. Big chunks of the paved path are washed away, as are parts of the riverbank. Trees are down, again I'm glad my house is on high ground. I didn't realize until yesterday how severe the damage was just a few minutes away from home.
Fran used to work at Kipling and Rexdale (literally one block north of iceman's photos). I'm glad she wasn't in the area when it hit.
Wow! Mother nature is a beast sometimes.
CRAZY! I'm glad you guys are safe
Wow, mudslides. Has this type of flooding hit you guys before?
Not since I've lived here but that's only been about 6 years.
I took a little photowalk though the ravine and took some pics. Damage isn't awful but it's noticeable.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.922975123774.1073741825.48303509&type=1&l=e22f718514 (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.922975123774.1073741825.48303509&type=1&l=e22f718514)
Nothing like this has hit toronto since hurricane hazel as far as I know, as this was the last time as far as I know that toronto had to even close to this much rain which was surpassed by Tuesdays storm
Yes it was a pretty scary experience, with a 126mm of rain in 2 hrs, which is a months worth of rain for the average July up here in toronto, it took 3 1/2 hours for my wife to get home because of all the obstacles with this storm Plus 300 000 people in toronto were without power some for a few days after.
The giant tiger by us will be closed for a month as it needs to be gutted and rebuilt because of the water damage with four feet of water needing to be pumped out of the basement.
I know that seems like a lot of water but honestly in Texas we get flash floods like that all the time. When I lived in Oklahoma in the early 1980s we had over 8 inches of rain in 24 hours. Most of the city had flood damage. You would not believe the devastation! I am glad you are fine though as water can be quite dangerous.
Kevin
Yeah, the issue is that Torontos sewage system is incredibly outdated and insufficient to handle even slightly more rain then normal. This was more rain then we've had since we started recording rainfall.
Though the lawyer that abandoned his Ferrari California in the flood has become a mini celeb.
I remember the underpasses near homing flooding like that a few years ago, back when I worked near home and walked every day. The water was also approaching the office car park but fortunately the rain stopped before we got too wet at our desks.
Glad you guys survived undampened :)
I actually just found out the poeople two houses away from me had their basements flooded knee deep. That being said, those are new constructions where they decided to be fancy and dig 12' basements. The power went out, their sump pumps failed and they flooded.
Yes we have that issue in our house - I have a battery powered backup unit just in case. Thankfully, we don't get much water in the basement (even after Hurricane Sandy) - but our neighbors have not been so lucky..
I still find the whole basement concept quite alien (despite all the american TV I've consumed over the years).
We were workning with some Canadian guys a few years ago and the topic of houses came up and while we were surprised at some of the basement conversation, they were absolutely amazed when they realised that we didn't have any at all.
:) Interesting - I didn't realize they are uncommon in the UK.
Yeah I was sure you guys had them. My understanding is that we have basements since we have to dig our foundations below the frost line in the winter otherwise the constant freezing/thawing of the ground underneath will destroy the foundation if it were sitting above.
I know in my sister's neck of the woods (Los Angeles) - basements are no where to be found.
Over here you very occasionally see houses having their foundations dug out and basements installed (by occasionally, I mean I've seen it once, in a house I used to walk past on the way to work) and I guess some of the larger/pricier places around must have them but the houses owned by the vast majority of us ordinary people(!) in most of the country don't
All the stately homes I've ever visited had basements, of course, where else do you put the servants and the kitchens! :D
Basements are awesome! It gives the house a much more solid foundation. Shelter during bad storms. Not to mention the added space for all your goodies!
Quote from: Rico on July 18, 2013, 05:27:25 AM
Basements are awesome! It gives the house a much more solid foundation. Shelter during bad storms. Not to mention the added space for all your goodies!
and a cool place to sleep on those really, really hot days! My basement is where I game and work out.
Right about a cool place! Our basement is like a refrigerator these days - compared to the 100F temps outside today.
In the current 32 degree (celcius!) humid temperatures a basement would be a marvelous place to have. Two of our kids sleep in the loft conversion and the heat is just overwhelming. (Yes I know it's cooler than parts of the US but I suspect the humidity is much higher and our housing stock just isn't built to cope with temperature extremes in either direction.)
The area I live - Philadelphia - has terrible humidity. Out west it gets much hotter, but the dry air generally makes it more manageable. I was cycling home from work yesterday, and the thermostat on my trip computer hit 106F - and the humidity was high. Very unpleasant.
You are right that generally our housing is built to accommodate - with most new homes coming with central air conditioning, etc.
Summers like this make me want to move to Canada..
Don't bother, it's hot and humid here too! I'm only an 8 hour drive northwest from Philly.
I am thinking Labrador... :)