Emergency evacuation plans are in place for the residents of Toronto Island if high water levels or storm conditions put their safety at risk.
Matthew Cutler, a spokesperson for the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation department, told CP24 Thursday that starting tonight, a staffed ferry will be ready and waiting on the island to provide shelter and transportation for the 700 island residents if required.
A rainfall warning is in effect for parts of southern Ontario, including Toronto, and Environment Canada says the city could see between 40 and 70 millimetres of rain by Saturday night.
"Our ferry service operates daily and continues to operate for anyone who wants to leave the island in case of any forecast storms that are upcoming," Cutler added.
Cutler said although people are able to travel to the island today, visitors are being advised to reschedule any plans until after the storm has ended.
"We have warned both through signage and on social media and our website that services on the island are greatly reduced right now,” he said. “Centreville will not be opening this weekend as predicted for this year as we deal with the high water levels on the island.”
Water levels are 'concerning'
James Dann, the city's waterfront parks manager, said the lake has already breached the shoreline in various areas on the island.
He noted that some roads are currently closed on the island as a result of pooling and ponding and some beaches and structures have been damaged.
“There is a water filtration plant on the island and a paramedic house that we’re also looking at preserving,” he said. “We have some washrooms buildings that are compromised.”
He said the city, along with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, will also be taking steps to protect the infrastructure on the island.
The steps include installing armour stone on the north shore of Ward’s Island and shoring up Centre Island Beach to protect against erosion around buildings and facilities.
Crews will also be making sand, sandbags and shovels available along the roadway on Ward’s Island for residents who want to take additional measures to protect their homes.
Late Thursday afternoon one of the residents using the sandbags to further fortify the shoreline said the challenge posed by the heavy rains is two-fold.
“Our problem is that the water is coming at us from the ground. This is a sandbar so when the water goes up it appears underneath our houses,” Michael, a Toronto Island resident said. “The secondary concern is that with all that rain we are going to get some weather and wave action and that water is going to come over what we just built and end up underneath our homes where many people have crawl spaces and furnaces and the like.”
Dann called the current water levels "concerning."
"We’ve been watching it now for over a month. It’s not just this weekend’s rain that’s going to be a concern for us. We’re also looking at sort of specifically at growing lake levels," he said.
"We are looking at lake levels that are 50 centimetres over where they have been in the past. So it’s high. It's definitely high and we’re looking at the ground on the island specifically that’s not absorbing any water whatsoever."
He said there is no "quick fix" when it comes to dealing with flooding.
"The lake level is not going to go down anytime soon."
Mayor John Tory said if residents on the island do need to be evacuated, the office of emergency management will be ready to set up emergency housing for displaced residents.
Tory said he is not concerned about what it will cost the city to deal with the rising water levels.
"The bottom line is you have to keep people safe, you have to preserve city assets, including its beaches and buildings," Tory said.
"It will cost what it costs."
Lake Ontario experiencing highest water levels in decades
All Toronto residents are being advised to avoid rivers and streams and to take precautions to protect their properties ahead of the upcoming rain storm.
“All parts of Toronto can be affected by flooding and there may be little or no advance warning that localized flooding is imminent,” city staff said in a news release issued Thursday.
“Flooding is most likely to occur in areas that have historically experienced frequent flooding such as the Don River Valley, the eastern and western beaches, the Toronto Islands and other lakefront/shoreline areas.”
Staff noted that Toronto has seen more than 100 millimetres of rain since early April.
Dave Phillips, a senior climatologist for Environment Canada, said the current water levels in Lake Ontario are the highest they have been in 25 years.
"In the Toronto area, if you look at January to right now, this has been about twice as much rain as we would normally get. It’s a record. In decades we’ve never seen such a wet first 125 days of a year," he said.
"The ground and the rivers and lakes are all swollen."
