TORONTO — Live Nation Canada confirmed “significant damage” Thursday at Rogers Stadium after Wednesday’s thunderstorms tore through bleachers at the 50,000-capacity Downsview Park venue — two weeks before AC/DC is scheduled to play.Aerial video from CTV’s Chopper 24 showed rows of seats tangled and destroyed, temporary tents flattened and debris scattered across the grounds. No staff or contractors were injured. Ticket sites still listed the September 16 Power Up Tour date as on sale Thursday afternoon. Live Nation said it is assessing the damage and “will provide further information as it becomes available.” It has not said whether the show will proceed.The wreckage was the most visible mark of a storm that is being hailed as a “100-year” event. Toronto and Region Conservation Authority said rainfall ranged from 10 mm to 112 mm depending on the neighbourhood. Environment Canada had issued a rare red-level alert and warned of ping-pong-ball-sized hail. No tornado has been officially confirmed..All lanes of the Don Valley Parkway between Bloor St. and the Gardiner Expressway reopened Thursday morning after being shut “indefinitely” overnight. The Gardiner stayed restricted in spots earlier in the day. Lower Simcoe St. downtown, stretches of Lake Shore Blvd., Bayview Ave. and parts of Yonge St. were among other roads closed while water receded.Drivers abandoned cars in knee-deep water in the Lower Simcoe St. underpass near Bay St. Vaughan Fire pulled people from about 20 vehicles at Jane St. and Hwy. 7 after the intersection went under. OPP closed the Hwy. 404 southbound on-ramp at Steeles Ave. after a vehicle became stuck. Hwy. 407 eastbound at Keele St. was also shut.Toronto Fire responded to nearly 1,500 calls. The city logged more than 1,100 service requests by Thursday morning. Michael Garron Hospital’s emergency department flooded but stayed open; staff asked non-urgent patients to go elsewhere.Videos posted to X showed couches blown off apartment balconies, cars stalled in flooded underpasses, and a Durham Region transit bus taking on water up to the seats..The Canadian National Exhibition closed grounds at 7 p.m. and buildings at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Bell Soundstage performances were cancelled. The fairground reopened Thursday. City outdoor pools were in “recovery mode” and some stayed closed because of debris.Pearson International Airport recorded 43.3 mm of rain and cancelled or delayed dozens of evening flights. The TTC reported dozens of route delays and at least 63 elevator and escalator outages Wednesday night.Toronto Hydro said about 65,000 customers lost power at the peak. By Thursday morning roughly 6,000 remained without electricity — about 90% restored, Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters. Hydro One still had tens of thousands offline across the Golden Horseshoe Thursday morning. Eaton Centre and TMU campus lost power Wednesday night.Chow said the city’s emergency operations centre was activated Wednesday morning, before the worst of the rain.“The moment the storm arrived, our crews were ready to go,” she said at city hall Thursday. “They rescued people from flooded roads, secured equipment, and prevented further damage.”“The storm has passed and I want to assure the people of Toronto that we were prepared,” she said. “We will keep working until every road is clear and every resident has power back.”.The storm arrived after Toronto Water had already spent about $1.3 billion by the end of 2025 on its Basement Flooding Protection Program for construction, design and studies. Staff now put the full price at $22 billion, up from an earlier $18-billion estimate. The 10-year capital plan sets aside about $2.2 billion. City documents say work from 2019 through 2025 reduced risk for more than 15,800 properties.A private-side subsidy program has issued about $86 million on roughly 59,000 applications — only about 14% of eligible owners. After 2024 storms flooded more than 1,000 homes, council raised the maximum subsidy to $6,650 per property as of May 1. Chow said the city has doubled homeowner incentives so households can install two sump pumps and a battery backup.City crews continued sweeping roadways and clearing fallen trees Thursday. Officials said it will take days to reach every downed tree. The city has not said what the cleanup will cost taxpayers.
