Flash and riverine flooding affected homes along the Don River in Toronto, Canada after a severe rainfall
On Tuesday, July 16, heavy rainfall fell over the Canadian city of Toronto and neighboring areas, causing widespread disruption and damage to property.
A weather station at the Pearson International Airport recorded 97.8 millimeters (38.5 inches) of rain in a single day, and downtown Toronto recorded 87.0 millimeters (34.3 inches) of rain over that same period.
The rapid and intense rainfall was more than enough to cause severe flash and riverine flooding.
According to the City of Toronto, the heavy rainfall flooded and damaged basements and their contents, trapped residents, inundated roads, stranded vehicles, and caused widespread power outages. In addition to basement flooding, sewer backups damaged residential properties.
Fortunately, the backups did not affect any public water supplies. The flooding also disrupted transportation networks, and Union Station, a key transit hub in the city center, temporarily closed.
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Flooding on major roads, including Lake Shore Boulevard and the Don Valley Parkway, hampered rescue and recovery efforts. Local reports from Toronto show flooded and stranded vehicles in low-lying areas.
Know Your Risk, Accelerate Your Recovery™
Flooding and flood risk is widespread. When rainfall rates exceed a city’s ability to manage storm waters, property damage is not only possible but likely. Similar to other urban areas, Toronto is susceptible to riverine and flash flooding due to its proximity to large bodies of water and rivers, as well as its high proportion of paved surfaces, which prevent rainfall from infiltrating into the ground surface and lead to flash flooding (Figure 1).
The CoreLogic Canada Flood Risk Score captures riverine, flash, and coastal flood risk across 10 Canadian provinces, including Ontario, allowing users to analyze their individual books of business and identify key potential loss drivers and possible growth areas.
The Widening Insurance Gap Problem
The recent flooding in Toronto is another example of the rising global concern about flooding and flood damage. The Insurance Bureau Bank of Canada (IBC) estimates that total economic damage from the heavy rainfall in Toronto may generate $1.0 billion in damage. The private insurance market will unlikely take heavy losses as standard homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage.
Homeowners in Canada can buy flood insurance as an optional coverage from private insurers. Losses not ceded to the private insurance market are then the responsibility of the federal government or those affected. The federal government provides disaster relief through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA), a cost-sharing program that helps provinces and territories navigate the financial impacts of large-scale natural disasters. However, the DFAA is not an insurance program; it only helps with essential items and services, such as food, clothing, shelter, and repairs.
The gap between what is insured and what is not insured creates added downstream issues for homeowners. Studies have shown that flood risk directly affects a home’s value in the U.S. Homebuyers should consider current and future flood risk when buying new properties. A lack of available and affordable flood insurance coverage could have material future implications for some of the world’s largest cities.
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Stay Current on the Impacts of Natural Disasters
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