As the storm roared it’s way into London from late Sunday afternoon to early Monday morning, close to 50 mm of rain fell.
City Engineer John Braam says the system that drains the water had a bit of a tough time keeping up. He says areas where the drains run a bit slower and the older subdivisions had the most trouble.
“Any of the older subdivisions and older parts of the City don’t have real drainage systems. The storm systems they have relayed through the path of least resistance which was the roads.”
Braam says over 60 people called in with flooded basements too. He expects that the number will end up being higher as the numbers come in.
He says the old system causes flooding at times because the storm and sewers are connected together. He says as construction takes place, the storm and sewer are being made into separate lines. He says having two lines instead of combining them has been in place since 1984.
Braam is urging anyone who is having trouble with flooding to let them know about it.
“We monitor flood prone areas. We ask our customers to notify us. It’s helps us know of any trouble and what areas need to be addressed.”
Braam says traffic signals were targeted as well.
The storm lit up the skies around London early Monday morning.
“We’ve had communication errors on over 40 and 13 of them went on flash.”
He said that it varies on the time it takes to repair them as the lightning could hit them in different ways. Braam says the numbers have been going down as Tuesday progressed.
He notes that lights could go off in different areas as London Hydro continues to bring everyone back on the grid.
Braam says along with the construction upgrades, facilities that handle the water are also in the process of being upgraded as well.
Environment Canada reported that 47.8 mm of rain fell at the London Airport. Braam says staff did unofficial tallies in different areas of London with some recording over 100 mm.
The latest forecast is calling for cloudy and clear skies for most of the week with a chance of showers on Thursday.
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