Definition of 100-year storms ‘seems to have flown right out the window’: Toronto officials

Toronto officials said they’ll beryllium reviewing nan city’s consequence to aggravated rainfall earlier this week that resulted successful dozens of cars getting stranded connected awesome routes arsenic floodwaters overtook them.

Toronto’s metropolis head Paul Johnson told reporters Wednesday nan magnitude of rainfall that fell Tuesday greeting exceeded estimates from Environment Canada.

The mobility of why nan Don Valley Parkway wasn’t closed earlier motorists were stranded pursuing an aggravated downpour is 1 of galore issues Johnson said he expects to tackle during a reappraisal to hap later this week.

Johnson said storms successful nan days starring up to Tuesday, including nan remnants of Hurricane Beryl, didn’t consequence successful akin flooding. He added that nan metropolis is incapable to shutdown awesome routes each clip location is inclement weather.

“It will not beryllium adjuvant for america to say, ‘Every clip there’s a thunderstorm, we’re going to adjacent nan Don Valley Parkway.’ That’s not a adjuvant reply to nan issue,” Johnson said.

“What is, though, is to say, ‘How do we cognize erstwhile these cells are a small different than a normal summertime thunderstorm aliases thing for illustration that, what is it we request to beryllium alert of that allows america to do it?’”

This isn’t nan first clip location person been awesome impacts caused by terrible rainfalls and nan metropolis has been steadily moving distant astatine ways to mitigate damage.

Mayor Olivia Chow added that nan metropolis is looking for ways to incentivize measures that tin beryllium taken by homeowners to thief trim flooding by installing porous materials to sorb water.

Exactly really that programme would beryllium funded remains unclear, but Chow’s said she’s successful nan midst of drafting a mobility for metropolis council.

The politician besides said she’s getting ongoing briefings connected changes being made to a stormwater surcharge, a programme which was paused earlier this twelvemonth complete disapproval it would go a “rain tax.”

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Earlier iterations of nan scheme looked to alteration nan rates taxpayers are charged, depending connected nan magnitude of difficult surfaces their spot contains.

Debate complete that programme during a assembly gathering successful May 2017, erstwhile then-mayor John Tory said it wasn’t fresh to beryllium adopted, resurfaced connected societal media pursuing this week’s flooding.

Chow said she sewage an update from Toronto h2o services unit astir what benignant of argumentation could beryllium put successful spot and what benignant of consultation would beryllium required for it.

Johnson added that Toronto’s efforts to trim flooding risks person been helping erstwhile it comes to preventing flooding successful caller areas, but location stay challenges successful adapting different parts, owed to nan measurement nan metropolis was built.

On apical of that, nan metropolis head said nan metropolis lacks some nan clip and resources to lick wider problems and wholly rebuilding nan sewer web is retired of nan question.

“The situation is we’re improving our systems and nan aged infrastructure astatine nan aforesaid clip these events proceed to happen,” Johnson said.

“I don’t moreover cognize why we proceed to talk astir 100-year storms anymore because that meaning seems to person flown correct retired nan window. We’ve had 3 of them successful nan past 11 years.”