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HYDRO STATION

Pumps were pulling tens of thousands of gallons of water out of Hydro One’s Manby Transmission Station on Kipling Avenue. Flood waters rose more than five feet high in some areas of the building, which

with its sister station near Pearson Airport serves almost 500,000 customers in Greater Toronto. Once the water comes out, workers still need to clean switches and other electrical systems. “Toronto was savaged,” said Carmine Marcello, Hydro One’s president, standing by a sodden, grassy field outside the station (journalists were not allowed inside the building). He did not know when all systems would be back in service, but urged residents to continue conserving power. “It’s pretty dangerous work,” he said. “Electricity and water just don’t mix, and it’s taken a little time.” Mr. Ford, who had power restored to his Etobicoke home at about 7:30 a.m., said the situation proves the city must “keep fighting” for infrastructure money: “I hate to say it, how things are looking, [this kind of problem] is probably going to happen again.”

KIPLING STATION

Around 3 p.m., there was not a passenger in sight at the end of the Bloor subway line, where a collector’s booth sat submerged in about a foot of dirty, brown water. Marks along the wall revealed that at the height of the storm, the deluge was several feet high. “I think within an hour we’ll get rid of the water. The main issue will be cleaning up,” said Andy Byford, chief executive officer of the Toronto Transit Commission, as pumps whirred behind him. “As soon as the water started coming in, we immediately pulled the breakers, so hopefully the equipment is protected, but we’ve got to test it before we bring it back.” The storm flooded the track between Jane and Kipling stations, where the TTC had more than 70 shuttle buses running. Mr. Byford said staff would work “all night” getting the station ready for service Wednesday. Asked whether the TTC could have done anything differently to prevent the subway shutdown, Mr. Ford responded: “I’m asking everybody to find out if we can handle things differently … There’s always ways for

improvement.”

National Post