'Almost a month’s worth of rain' in a day: Toronto's thunderstorm aftermath includes rescues, outages

Thousands still without power across Greater Toronto Area, some road closures still in effect

The most dramatic videos of the GTA thunderstorm

Cleanup efforts continue across the Greater Toronto Area after Wednesday's severe thunderstorm that left debris scattered, roadways flooded and residents without power.

The intense weather Wednesday brought torrential rain, large hail and the risk of a tornado to wide swaths of southern Ontario as skies darkened over downtown Toronto and hail slammed neighbourhoods further north.

Video on social media showed large hail falling and downpours flooding vehicles and bus stations, sending people running for cover.

According to Toronto police, officers received about 300 calls reporting downed power lines within the last 24 hours.

In an update Thursday morning, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow thanked city crews and first responders for their swift response. Chow said Toronto fire responded to over 1,000 calls related to the storm.

"The storm has passed, and I want to assure the people of Toronto we were prepared," she said. "We will keep working until every road is cleared and every resident has power back."

IN PHOTOS | Scenes from severe thunderstorm

Toronto fire crews rescued people trapped on scaffolding and in elevators after '100-year storm'

Chow also said the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), which had closed due to flooding, is "now re-opening."

The DVP southbound lanes reopened Thursday morning after being closed from flooding on the roadway, according to the city's website. The Bay, Don Roadway, Eastern, Queen, Dundas and Bayview Avenue on-ramps remain closed.

Video shows 2 workers escaping moving scaffold during thunderstorm

The northbound DVP is still closed between the Jarvis off-ramp and the Royal Drive and Bloor on-ramp.

TTC service should be running as scheduled and city camps are all operating on normal hours, and the CNE is also open, according to Chow.

"We are all looking forward to the long weekend ahead," she said. "Our crews will be working hard this week to get our parks, pools, public beaches safe and ready for you to enjoy."

The storm also caused flight delays and cancellations at Toronto's Pearson airport, though operations are returning to normal.

The elements battered Rogers Stadium, a 50,000-capacity music venue in the city's north end.

Live Nation said no one was injured and they are assessing the extent of the damage.

Rogers Stadium seriously damaged by GTA storm

A 100-year storm event: climatologist

Paul Johnson, Toronto city manager, said every weather event is different, but Wednesday's storm was particularly destructive.

"The water simply overwhelms the systems we have in place when it's a 100-year storm event," he said.

Johnson said the city's outdoor pools were in "recovery mode" Wednesday morning due to debris and sediment from the storm.

Wading pools and most outdoor pools have reopened, the city said in the afternoon, and crews are working on opening the remaining ones.

Vaughan cleans up after severe thunderstorm leaves trail of damage

David Phillips, a climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Wednesday was the wettest Sept. 2 Toronto has ever seen. Downtown Toronto saw about 60 millimetres of rain, he said, and some unofficial measuring vessels collected over 100 millimetres.

"That’s almost a month’s worth of rain," said Phillips.

Phillips said while thunderstorms have been around forever, climate change is making them more severe.

"[It’s] almost as if this is a preview of what will be normal in 30 years from now,” he said. “Gully washers, heavy rainfalls."

Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop also provided an update on how crews responded to nearly 1,500 calls over a 24-hour period.

"That is the second-largest call volume day in the history of Toronto Fire Service, just shy of the ice storm numbers in 2013," he said.

Jessop said paramedics, police and fire responded to structure fires and rescues, including workers trapped on scaffolding, people stuck in elevators, and "partial building collapses."

Overall on Wednesday there were 5,030 calls to 911, according to Toronto police.

Peak of storm saw 65,000 in city without power

There are still widespread power outages Thursday that crews are working to restore, according to Toronto Hydro.

Toronto Hydro said in an email that 5,700 customers remain without power as of 6:30 p.m., down from around 65,000 at the peak of the storm.

The province's power supplier, Hydro One, said Thursday about 15,000 customers remain offline as of 5 p.m. Hardest hit areas are Dundas, Clinton and Beachville, Ont., the company said in an email.

Trees downed, many without power after thunderstorms sweep through southern Ontario

Power was restored Wednesday to most customers affected by the storm, including in Vaughan, Mississauga, Kleinburg and Markham, according to power company Alectra Utilities. Crews are continuing work to restore power to smaller groups without power, it said in an email. Its outage map showed only pockets of outages left as of Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Flood conditions have made it more difficult to complete restoration, the company said in a statement to CBC News.

Several roads still remain closed on Thursday as cleanup operations continue, according to a news release from the city of Toronto.

The Gardiner Expressway eastbound and the northbound DVP are fully closed from Jarvis to the Royal Drive and Bloor on-ramp. Bayview Avenue is closed from Pottery Road to Lawren Harris Square.

Vehicle access to Toronto's High Park is blocked due to a fallen tree, the city says.

In Vaughan, Huntington Road between Rutherford Road and Trade Valley Drive is closed indefinitely due to a large sinkhole, York police say. They are warning residents to avoid the area.

Dramatic video shows major sinkhole in Vaughan, Ont. following storm

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province is in contact with the municipalities affected by the storm.

"We stand ready to help wherever is needed," he wrote in a social media post Thursday.

Destruction, disruptions to events and service

After reporting flooding in its emergency department Wednesday evening, Micheal Garron Hospital says it worked overnight to contain the flood and clean impacted areas. The emergency department is open and operating, officials say.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) opened 10 a.m. Thursday after closing early Wednesday evening because of the severe weather, organizers told CBC Toronto.

With files from Alina Snisarenko and The Canadian Press