Extreme Weather · Toronto Under Water

Toronto Flood Timeline 1954–2026: Major Floods, Extreme Rain and Climate Risk

Name: Toronto Flood Timeline Dataset
Creator: AiTimeline

📅 Updated 5 September 202672 years of flood history, 1954–2026Primary sources: TRCA, City of Toronto, ECCC

Written & reviewed by Nazish Fatima · Updated September 5, 2026

In short

Explore Toronto's flood history from Hurricane Hazel in 1954 to 2026, including major storms, extreme rainfall, infrastructure and growing flood risk.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, but a few hours of heavy rain can still overwhelm its roads, basements, subway access points, highways and power grid. This Toronto flood timeline traces that pattern from Hurricane Hazel in October 1954 — the storm that reshaped how the region manages rivers and floodplains — through the major flash flood of July 2024, when the Don Valley Parkway and Billy Bishop Airport’s pedestrian tunnel both went under water, to the storm that cut power to 45,000 homes on September 2, 2026. This is a record of Toronto flooding history, infrastructure pressure and climate risk — not a claim that every flood shares one identical cause.

Quick answer Key takeaways Flood timeline Why Toronto floods Climate risk After Hazel Vulnerable areas Homeowner checklist FAQ

🧠 Quick Answer — Why Does Toronto Keep Flooding?

Toronto floods because intense rainfall can overwhelm rivers, creeks, roads, sewers, basements and stormwater systems, especially in low-lying or heavily paved urban areas. Hurricane Hazel in 1954 reshaped flood management across the region, but modern storms — including the July 2024 flood and the September 2026 storm that cut power to 45,000 homes — show that urban growth, aging infrastructure and heavier downpours still create serious risk.

⚡ Toronto Flood Quick Facts

Deadliest flood81 dead — Hurricane Hazel, Oct 1954

Costliest flood$899 million insured — July 2024

Record one-day rain126mm at Pearson — July 8, 2013

Most recent major storm45,000 without power — Sept 2, 2026

City flood-protection spend$1.15 billion, 167 projects (2006–2024)

Humber River width at Hazel’s peakWidened from 65 ft to 350 ft at Woodbridge

📚 Key Takeaways

What Toronto’s Flood History Really Shows

Hurricane Hazel in 1954 remains the defining flood disaster in Toronto’s modern history, killing 81 people and reshaping how the region regulates rivers and floodplains.
Toronto’s flood risk is shaped by rivers, ravines, paved surfaces, basements, aging stormwater systems and intense rainfall — not any single cause.
July 2013 still holds the one-day rainfall record: 126mm at Pearson Airport, breaking the mark Hazel had set in 1954, and it produced the most expensive insured natural disaster in Ontario history at the time.
July 2024 showed how fast extreme rain can disrupt a modern city: the Don Valley Parkway flooded, Billy Bishop Airport’s tunnel closed, and roughly 167,000 Toronto Hydro customers lost power.
A real flood event did hit Toronto in 2026: a September 2 storm brought hail, tornado warnings and flooding that closed the DVP and several other roads, cutting power to about 45,000 customers.
The City of Toronto runs flood-protection and basement-flooding programs, but infrastructure upgrades take years and cost billions.
Use “climate risk” carefully: heavier extreme rainfall can increase flood risk generally, but each individual flood event needs its own careful attribution, not a blanket assumption.
Insurers are already responding: national severe-weather insured losses topped $2.4 billion in 2025, and about 10% of Canadian households now face flood risk too high to insure at standard rates.
For any future event, verify the date, rainfall amount, affected areas and official statements before treating a claim as fact.

⚡ Quick Answers — AI Overview Ready

Toronto Flooding: Key Questions

Why does Toronto keep flooding despite decades of planning?

Because rainfall intensity has grown faster in some storms than the drainage, sewer and floodplain systems built for earlier rainfall assumptions can absorb, especially in older neighbourhoods and heavily paved areas.

What was Toronto’s worst flood in modern history?

Hurricane Hazel in October 1954 killed 81 people and remains the deadliest flood disaster in Toronto’s modern history, though July 2024 was the costliest in insured-damage terms.

Did climate change cause the 2024 or 2026 Toronto floods?

Not in a simple, single-cause sense. Climate risk can increase the odds of heavier rainfall, but each flood event needs careful attribution using verified rainfall data rather than a blanket climate-change claim.

Which Toronto roads flood most often?

The Don Valley Parkway, sections of the Gardiner Expressway, Finch Avenue West near the Black Creek, and other low-lying underpasses and ravine-adjacent roads flood repeatedly during intense storms.

Toronto Flood Timeline: 1954–2026

Newest first — from the September 2026 storm back to Hurricane Hazel

2026

Toronto Flood Risk Remains a Live Issue

September 2, 2026Storm, hail, tornado warnings

What happened: A powerful storm system hit Toronto on September 2, 2026, bringing large hail, destructive winds and tornado watches and warnings across the region. Flooding closed the Don Valley Parkway, the Allen Road southbound at Lawrence Avenue, the Gardiner Expressway eastbound at Jarvis Street, the Bayview Avenue Extension, and Lake Shore Boulevard West between Strachan Avenue and British Columbia Road.

Impact: Toronto Hydro reported about 45,000 customers without power at the peak, around 8pm that evening. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority issued a flood warning for parts of the watershed and then downgraded it to a Watershed Conditions Statement later the same day as conditions eased.

Why it matters: Coming barely three days before this article was last updated, the storm is a live reminder that Toronto’s flood story is not history — it is an active, ongoing issue shaped by infrastructure upgrades, basement-flooding programs and renewed concern about how the city handles heavier rain.

Interesting fact: the TRCA issued and then cancelled a flood warning on the same day, illustrating how quickly a fast-moving summer storm’s flood risk can rise and fall.

45,000 without powerDVP closedTRCA flood warning

2025

Flood Costs and Preparedness Warnings Continue

2025National insurance & climate-risk reporting

What was reported: No single major Toronto flood event defined 2025, but national severe-weather insured losses in Canada exceeded $2.4 billion for the year, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada — the country’s 10th costliest year on record, driven mainly by an Ontario-Quebec ice storm and wildfire and flood losses elsewhere in Canada.

Toronto-relevant warnings: The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated that about 10% of Canadian households now face flood risk too high to insure at standard rates. Separately, the Canadian Climate Institute warned in February 2025 that more than 540,000 homes could be built in flood-prone areas nationally by 2030, adding roughly $2 billion a year in flood damage.

Why it matters: Flood damage is increasingly a financial and infrastructure issue, not just a weather story — and Toronto’s exposure sits inside these national trends even without a single headline event of its own that year.

Interesting fact: insurers now treat flood risk as a distinct, separately priced hazard in Canada, a shift largely driven by the losses of the 2010s and 2020s.

$2.4B national losses10% uninsurable risk

2024

Toronto Flooding Disrupts the City

July 15–16, 2024Flash flooding

What happened: Torrential rain on July 15–16, 2024 caused flash flooding across Toronto, submerging sections of the Don Valley Parkway after the Don River overflowed, stranding vehicles, and flooding Billy Bishop Airport’s underwater pedestrian tunnel, which closed as a result.

Power and cost: Toronto Hydro reported roughly 167,000 customers without power at the peak of the storm. The Insurance Bureau of Canada initially estimated insured damage near $940 million; CatIQ’s final revision in 2025 settled the figure at approximately $899 million, making it one of the costliest insured weather events in Ontario history.

Why it mattered: The storm showed how quickly intense rainfall can overwhelm a modern city’s transport, power and drainage systems at once, even outside the single-day rainfall record set in 2013.

Interesting fact: Pearson Airport recorded about 123mm of rain over the two-day event — a large total, but still short of the single-day record set in July 2013.

167,000 without power$899M insured damageDVP & Billy Bishop tunnel flooded

2013

Extreme Rain Hits Toronto Again

July 8, 2013Record-breaking rainfall

What happened: A severe thunderstorm dropped 126mm of rain at Pearson Airport on July 8, 2013 — breaking the previous single-day rainfall record of 121mm set by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Widespread flash flooding knocked out power to more than 300,000 customers and stranded about 1,400 passengers aboard a GO Transit train surrounded by rising water.

Cost: Insurers paid out an estimated $940 million (in 2013 dollars), making it the most expensive insured natural disaster in Ontario history at the time, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Why it mattered: The scale of the payout and the stranded-train images made 2013 a national reference point for the insurance protection gap and for urban flood risk beyond river valleys.

Interesting fact: the 2013 storm’s 126mm reading held the Toronto single-day rainfall record even after the major 2024 flood, which fell just short at 123mm over two days.

126mm in one day300,000+ without power$940M insured (2013 dollars)

2005

A Major GTA Rainstorm Exposes Urban Flooding

August 19, 2005Urban flash flooding

What happened: A severe storm dropped about 103mm of rain on parts of Toronto on August 19, 2005, washing out a roughly 30-metre section of Finch Avenue West and flooding thousands of basements across the city.

Cost: Insurers received about 15,000 claims, with insured damage estimates ranging from roughly $500 million to $600 million depending on the source — a scale that, at the time, was unusual for a single urban rainstorm rather than a hurricane or river flood.

Why it mattered: The 2005 storm showed that Toronto’s flood risk extended well beyond the historic river-valley disasters like Hazel, into ordinary urban infrastructure — roads, sewers and basements — that a fast, intense downpour could overwhelm on its own.

Interesting fact: the Finch Avenue West washout became one of the most-cited images of urban flood risk in Toronto, predating the DVP flooding that would draw similar attention in 2013 and 2024.

103mm rain15,000 insurance claims

1970s–90s

Urban Growth Adds New Pressure

1970s–1990sExpansion era

What changed: Toronto’s rapid expansion through these decades added far more paved surfaces — roads, parking lots, driveways and rooftops — across the region. More hard surfaces mean rainfall runs off faster into drains, creeks and rivers instead of soaking naturally into the ground.

Why it mattered: This slow, compounding shift raised the baseline flood risk for storms of a given size, independent of any single dramatic event, and set the stage for the urban flash floods of 2005, 2013 and 2024.

Interesting fact: this era’s growth is one reason a storm of the same intensity produces more urban flooding today than an equivalent storm would have in the 1950s, even before accounting for heavier modern rainfall.

More paved surfacesFaster runoff

Post-1954

Floodplains Become Protected

Post-1954Policy shift

What changed: One of Hazel’s most lasting legacies was a shift away from building homes in the most dangerous floodplain areas. In the years after the storm, the province merged local conservation bodies into what became the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, strengthening conservation-based flood planning across the region.

Why it mattered: Land that had been residential before 1954, particularly along the Humber River, was converted to parkland and conservation areas rather than rebuilt — a direct, physical legacy of the disaster still visible in Toronto’s ravine system today.

Interesting fact: several parks along the Humber and other Toronto rivers sit on land where homes stood before Hurricane Hazel.

Floodplain conservationTRCA established

1954

Hurricane Hazel Changes Toronto Forever

October 15–16, 1954Deadliest flood disaster

What happened: Hurricane Hazel struck the Toronto region on October 15–16, 1954, dropping more than 200mm of rain in 24 hours on already-saturated ground, with winds reaching 124 km/h. Rivers and creeks overflowed catastrophically — the Humber River widened from about 65 feet to 350 feet at Woodbridge at the storm’s peak.

Toll: The storm killed 81 people, more than 30 of them on Raymore Drive alone, where an entire street was swept away, and left roughly 1,900 families homeless. It remains Canada’s deadliest single storm-related disaster in a major urban area.

Why it mattered: Hazel devastated floodplain communities and directly reshaped how the region manages rivers, conservation areas and floodplain development, a legacy that still governs Toronto’s flood policy seven decades later.

Interesting fact: Hazel’s 121mm one-day rainfall record at the time stood until the July 2013 storm finally broke it, 59 years later.

81 dead1,900 families homelessHumber River widened to 350 ft

Why Heavy Rain Overwhelms Toronto

The same basic chain repeats in every major Toronto flood

Extreme rain

→

Paved surfaces

→

Fast runoff

→

Overwhelmed drains & sewers

→

Flooded basements & roads

→

Transit, power & traffic disruption

Visual explainer showing how extreme rain, paved surfaces, sewers, rivers and low-lying roads contribute to Toronto flooding

Waterways

Rivers and Ravines

The Humber, Don and Black Creek watersheds channel huge volumes of runoff through the city and can rise fast during intense storms.

Roads

Low-Lying Roads

The Don Valley Parkway and sections of the Gardiner Expressway sit close to river level and flood repeatedly during heavy rain.

Housing

Basement Apartments

Basements are the first place overloaded sewers back up into, making basement flooding the most common household flood damage in the city.

Infrastructure

Aging Sewers

Much of Toronto’s combined and storm sewer network predates modern rainfall-intensity standards and fills quickly in a downpour.

Utilities

Power Infrastructure

Substations and electrical equipment near flood-prone areas are a recurring source of storm-driven outages, as seen in 2013, 2024 and 2026.

Transit

Transit Tunnels

Underground and below-grade transit access points, including Billy Bishop Airport’s pedestrian tunnel, are vulnerable to sudden water intrusion.

Toronto Flood Milestones at a Glance

Year	Event	What happened	Why it mattered
1954	Hurricane Hazel	Deadly river flooding across the Toronto region, 81 dead	Reshaped floodplain planning and conservation policy for decades
2005	Major GTA rainstorm	103mm rain, Finch Ave West washout, 15,000 claims	Showed modern flood risk extends beyond river valleys
2013	Toronto extreme rain	126mm record rainfall, 300,000+ without power	Exposed vulnerability of city systems, costliest insured event at the time
2024	July flash flooding	DVP, airport tunnel, power and transit affected	Showed how fast intense rainfall can overwhelm a modern city
2026	September storm	Hail, tornado warnings, DVP closed, 45,000 without power	Confirms flood resilience remains a live Toronto issue

Why Toronto Floods Even After Decades of Planning

Toronto has many rivers, creeks and ravines running through densely built neighbourhoods.
Older neighbourhoods were built before today’s rainfall-risk assumptions and sewer-capacity standards existed.
Paved surfaces — roads, parking lots, driveways and rooftops — increase runoff speed and volume.
Basement flooding happens when sewer and drainage systems are overloaded faster than they can drain.
Highways, underpasses and transit corridors near river valleys can become flood traps within minutes.
Climate risk means heavier rainfall events can become more likely or more damaging, but attribution for any single storm must be careful and sourced.
Infrastructure upgrades — new sewer tunnels, basement-flooding programs, the Port Lands Flood Protection project — are expensive, disruptive and slow to complete.

Climate Risk: What Can Be Said Carefully

Scientists and public agencies warn that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the potential for heavier rainfall. For Toronto, that does not mean every flood has one simple cause. It means the city must plan for stronger downpours, faster runoff and more expensive damage when drainage systems are overwhelmed.

For context: the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported national severe-weather insured losses exceeding $2.4 billion in 2025, and the Canadian Climate Institute warned in February 2025 that continued development in flood-prone areas could add roughly $2 billion a year in flood damage nationally by 2030. These are national trend indicators, not a Toronto-specific attribution for any single storm.

What Changed After Hurricane Hazel?

Greater focus on floodplain control, restricting new construction in the most flood-prone river valleys.
A stronger, unified conservation authority role — the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority — managing watershed planning across municipal boundaries.
More caution around building in river valleys, with many previously residential floodplain areas converted to parks and protected land.
Modern flood forecasting and stormwater planning practices that trace their institutional roots directly back to Hazel’s aftermath.

Toronto Flood Risk: Vulnerable Areas

Vulnerability depends on elevation, river proximity, sewer capacity and drainage — not a single official hazard map

Toronto does not publish one single authoritative “flood map” that residents can check street by street; flood risk instead depends on a combination of local elevation, proximity to a river or creek, sewer capacity and drainage design. Areas that have repeatedly flooded in the events covered by this timeline share common traits: they sit low relative to a nearby watercourse, they include an underpass or below-grade corridor, or they carry aging combined sewers.

Don Valley Parkway corridor — flooded in 2013, 2024 and 2026, due to its proximity to the Don River.
Finch Avenue West near Black Creek — washed out in 2005 and remains a recurring flood point.
Gardiner Expressway underpasses — low-lying sections flood during intense downpours, including the 2026 storm.
Billy Bishop Airport’s pedestrian tunnel — a below-grade access point that flooded in 2024.
Humber River floodplain communities — the historic site of Hazel’s worst damage, now largely parkland and conservation land.
Older neighbourhoods with combined sewers — more prone to basement backup during intense, short-duration storms.

Residents in any of these types of areas should check the City of Toronto’s basement-flooding program resources and their own property’s grading and sewer connections rather than relying on a single map.

What Toronto Homeowners Should Watch

Informational Checklist — Not Professional Advice

Basement backwater valve, to stop sewer water from backing up into the home during overloaded-system events.
Sump pump, to manage groundwater and foundation-drainage water.
Downspout disconnection where applicable, to keep roof runoff out of the sewer system.
Lot grading, to direct surface water away from the foundation.
Sewer backup insurance, since standard home insurance does not always cover this specific risk.
City subsidy programs, including Toronto’s expanded basement-flooding protection subsidies.
Local flood-risk information from the City of Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

⚠️ This section is informational only and is not professional engineering, plumbing or legal advice. Homeowners should consult a licensed contractor or the City of Toronto directly before undertaking flood-protection work.

🧠 Short Answer: Is Toronto’s Flood Risk Getting Worse?

Toronto’s flood risk is growing because intense rain is colliding with urban development, paved surfaces, older drainage systems and vulnerable low-lying areas. Climate risk can increase the chance of heavier rainfall, but each flood event should be described with verified rainfall data and official sources. The key issue is not only more rain; it is how fast water reaches roads, rivers, sewers and basements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Toronto’s worst flood?

Hurricane Hazel in 1954 is widely remembered as Toronto’s defining flood disaster because of its deadly impact — 81 people killed — and its long-term influence on floodplain planning across the region.

Why does Toronto flood during heavy rain?

Heavy rain can run quickly off paved surfaces into drains, sewers, creeks and rivers. When water arrives faster than these systems can handle it, roads, basements, underpasses and transit areas can flood.

Did climate change cause Toronto’s floods?

Do not frame it that simply. Climate change can increase the risk of heavier rainfall, but individual flood events need careful attribution. A safer wording is that climate risk is increasing pressure on Toronto’s stormwater and flood-management systems.

What happened during the 2024 Toronto flood?

Torrential rain on July 15–16, 2024 caused flash flooding, submerged sections of the Don Valley Parkway, closed Billy Bishop Airport’s pedestrian tunnel, and left roughly 167,000 Toronto Hydro customers without power. Insured damage was later finalized at about $899 million.

What is the City of Toronto doing to reduce basement flooding?

The City of Toronto runs a Basement Flooding Protection Program that has spent about $1.15 billion on 167 infrastructure projects since 2006, alongside subsidies of up to $6,650 per property for backwater valves, sump pumps and plumbing assessments.

Which parts of Toronto are most vulnerable to flooding?

Vulnerability depends on local elevation, river and creek proximity, sewer capacity, basement exposure and drainage. The Don Valley Parkway corridor, Finch Avenue West near Black Creek, Gardiner Expressway underpasses and older neighbourhoods with combined sewers are among the more exposed areas.

Is Toronto prepared for future extreme rain?

Toronto has flood-management programs, subsidy schemes and infrastructure upgrades underway, but severe rainfall can still overwhelm parts of the city, as shown by the September 2026 storm. Preparedness depends on continued city investment, homeowner action, forecasting and climate adaptation.

What happened during Hurricane Hazel in 1954?

Hurricane Hazel struck the Toronto region on October 15–16, 1954, dropping more than 200mm of rain in 24 hours and killing 81 people, more than 30 of them on Raymore Drive alone. The Humber River widened from about 65 feet to 350 feet at Woodbridge at the storm’s peak.

When was Toronto’s most recent major flood?

A storm on September 2, 2026 brought hail, tornado warnings and flooding that closed the Don Valley Parkway and several other roads, cutting power to about 45,000 Toronto Hydro customers.

How much rain fell during the 2013 Toronto storm?

126mm of rain fell at Pearson Airport on July 8, 2013, breaking the previous single-day rainfall record of 121mm set by Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and remaining the Toronto record as of 2026.

Did the 2024 Toronto flood break a rainfall record?

No. Pearson Airport recorded about 123mm of rain over the two-day July 2024 event, a very large total, but it did not surpass the 126mm single-day record set in July 2013.

How much did the 2013 Toronto flood cost in insurance claims?

Insurers paid out an estimated $940 million (in 2013 dollars), making it the most expensive insured natural disaster in Ontario history at the time, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

How much did the 2024 Toronto flood cost in insurance claims?

The Insurance Bureau of Canada initially estimated damage near $940 million; CatIQ’s final 2025 revision settled the figure at approximately $899 million.

What caused the 2005 Toronto flood?

A severe storm on August 19, 2005 dropped about 103mm of rain on parts of Toronto, washing out a roughly 30-metre section of Finch Avenue West and flooding thousands of basements citywide.

What is a basement backwater valve?

A backwater valve is a plumbing device installed on a home’s sewer line that closes automatically to stop sewage and stormwater from backing up into the basement when the municipal sewer system is overloaded.

Does the City of Toronto offer subsidies for flood protection?

Yes. As of May 2026, the City of Toronto offers subsidies of up to $6,650 per property covering backwater valves, sump pumps and a new home plumbing assessment, retroactive to eligible work completed on or after November 12, 2025.

What is the Port Lands Flood Protection project?

It is a major infrastructure project, under construction since December 2017, that protects Toronto’s Port Lands area from flooding by re-naturalizing the mouth of the Don River. Most areas opened in summer 2025, with final sections expected to complete in summer 2026.

Why did the Don Valley Parkway flood in 2013, 2024 and 2026?

The DVP runs directly alongside the Don River in a low-lying corridor, making it one of the first major roads to flood whenever intense rain causes the river to rise quickly.

How many people lost power in the 2026 Toronto storm?

Toronto Hydro reported about 45,000 customers without power at the peak of the September 2, 2026 storm.

How many people lost power in the 2024 Toronto flood?

Toronto Hydro reported roughly 167,000 customers without power at the peak of the July 15–16, 2024 flood.

How many people lost power in the 2013 Toronto storm?

More than 300,000 customers lost power during the July 8, 2013 storm, alongside about 1,400 GO Transit passengers stranded on a flooded train.

Is Toronto’s flood risk increasing because of climate change?

Climate risk can increase the odds of heavier rainfall, and Canadian insurers report rising flood-related losses nationally, but attributing any single Toronto storm directly to climate change requires careful, event-specific analysis rather than a blanket claim.

What percentage of Canadian households face high flood risk?

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that about 10% of Canadian households face flood risk too high to insure at standard rates, a national figure that includes flood-prone parts of the Toronto region.

What is Toronto’s combined sewer system?

A combined sewer system carries both sewage and stormwater in the same pipes. Older Toronto neighbourhoods still use combined sewers, which are more likely to back up into basements during intense, short-duration storms than newer separated systems.

How does Environment and Climate Change Canada track Toronto rainfall?

Environment and Climate Change Canada operates official weather stations, including at Pearson Airport, that record rainfall totals used to verify records such as the 126mm one-day total from July 2013 and to issue rainfall and severe-weather warnings.

Was the Billy Bishop Airport tunnel flood a one-time event?

The 2024 flooding of Billy Bishop Airport’s pedestrian tunnel was the most widely reported instance, but any below-grade access point near water is structurally vulnerable to repeat flooding during future intense storms.

How is Hurricane Hazel remembered in Toronto today?

Hazel is remembered through parkland built on former floodplain neighbourhoods, the conservation authority framework it prompted, and as the historical benchmark against which every subsequent major Toronto flood or storm is compared.

What should I do if my Toronto basement floods repeatedly?

Contact the City of Toronto about its Basement Flooding Protection Program and subsidy options, and consult a licensed contractor about a backwater valve, sump pump or lot-grading assessment specific to your property; this article is informational, not professional advice.

Are Toronto’s flood risks the same as coastal flooding elsewhere?

No. Toronto’s primary flood risk is inland flash flooding driven by intense rainfall overwhelming rivers, sewers and roads, rather than coastal storm surge, though Lake Ontario shoreline areas do face separate lake-level flood considerations.

Where can I check my property’s specific flood risk in Toronto?

The City of Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority both publish flood-related resources and can be contacted directly for guidance specific to a property’s location, since Toronto does not publish one single official street-by-street flood-risk map.

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⚠️ Editorial Note

This article separates verified official figures (TRCA, City of Toronto, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Insurance Bureau of Canada, CatIQ) from general background context, and avoids attributing any single flood event to climate change without careful qualification. Rainfall totals, outage numbers and insured-loss figures are cited to their original source and may be revised by those sources over time. This is editorial content, not engineering, insurance or legal advice.

Sources & further reading

Every dated entry above was checked against these references. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.