Drake's Toronto mansion flooded amid record rainfall
Canadian rapper Drake's luxury mansion, known as "the Embassy," in Toronto's upscale Bridle Path neighborhood was flooded due to a record-breaking rainstorm on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. The artist shared a video on Instagram Stories showing murky brown water surging into a room. "This better be Espresso Martini," Drake humorously captioned the video. The torrential downpour caused widespread flooding and power outages across the city of Toronto.
Record rainfall caused widespread disruption in Toronto
The rainstorm resulted in more rainfall within a four-hour period on Tuesday than the city's average for the month of July. This led to submerged city streets, closed highways and subway stations, leaving tens of thousands of residents without power. Toronto's Pearson International Airport recorded 97+mm (3.82-inch) of rain, marking it as the fifth wettest day ever recorded in the city's history. This surpassed the previous record for July 16 set in 1941 when 25.9mm (1-inch) fell at the airport.
Severe weather events across North America and Caribbean
The storm was part of a larger system that also caused severe weather events across North America and the Caribbean. Earlier this month, Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic, wreaked havoc in Grenada and Jamaica before bringing flooding and winds to Texas. The Toronto Fire Services processed nearly 1,700 calls for service and dispatched to almost 500 incidents between 6:00am and 3:00pm ET Tuesday.
Power outages and infrastructure damage in Toronto
At the height of the storm, 1,67,000 Toronto Hydro customers were left without power. Images circulated showing cars floating on a highway east of the city and rain leaking through the ceiling at City Hall. A pedestrian tunnel connecting air travelers to Billy Bishop airport also flooded. "We really, seriously, have to deal with climate change, because these kinds of days are going to be a lot more frequent," said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow during a news conference.
Toronto's aging infrastructure exacerbated flooding: Mayor
Mayor Chow highlighted that Toronto's aging infrastructure makes the city more vulnerable to flooding. The heavy rainfall washed out highway lanes including the Don Valley Parkway, one of Canada's busiest freeways, and closed subway stations and bus routes. Social media was flooded with videos of commuters wading through ankle-high water at Toronto's bustling Union Station and cars submerged in downtown Toronto.
