A major highway and roads are flooded as torrential rains hit Canada's largest city

TORONTO -- A major highway, several thoroughfares and a key transit hub were flooded in Canada's largest city on Tuesday after torrential rain hit Toronto, while power outages were reported in multiple areas.

Toronto police said part of the Don Valley Parkway, which runs from the north part of the city into the downtown area, 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 they rescued two people from flooding on the highway – one from inside their vehicle and another from the roof of their car – and later rescued another 12 people from flooding further down the highway.

Fire crews were also responding to an “extremely high” number of rescues related to flooding and elevator entrapments, the service said.

At the heart of Toronto's downtown core, flooding was reported at Union station, a key transit terminus. Subway trains were not stopping at Union, the Toronto Transit Commission said, while several transit buses and streetcars were making detours on their regular routes across the city due to localized flooding.

Billy Bishop Airport, which is located on the Toronto Islands minutes from downtown, said its pedestrian tunnel had been closed due to flooding, with passengers directed to take the ferry over to the airport.

Flooding was also disrupting life in many other parts of the Greater Toronto Area, with the provincial police warning of flooding on parts of highways and local police forces urging caution.

In Peel Region, west of Toronto, police said they had reports of manhole covers lifting due to the volume of rain and were urging residents to use caution when driving.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority issued a flood warning and said that shorelines, rivers and streams in the Greater Toronto Area should be considered dangerous.

Environment Canada had issued rainfall warnings for the Greater Toronto Area and much of southern Ontario as a mix of heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the region.

It had warned that there could be rainfall amounts of up to 125 millimeters for parts of the Greater Toronto Area.