Toronto (Canada).- Toronto, the main Canadian city and the fourth most populous in North America, woke up this Monday totally paralyzed after the fall on Sunday of up to 60 centimeters of snow and with temperatures of -15 degrees.
Toronto Police advised the approximately six million people living in the metropolitan area to avoid leaving their homes if possible due to the serious traffic problems occurring in the city.
In the late hours of Sunday, when it became evident that the snowfall would have historical characteristics, the municipal authorities declared a climate emergency that activated exceptional measures, such as the prohibition of parking vehicles on some of the main streets.
The municipal transport company indicated that although some buses are immobilized, the metro service and trams are operating with some normality, although localized interruptions may occur.
The same is happening with Toronto’s commuter transport service, which although it is running is suffering major delays on its main routes.
Toronto, blocked by snowfall affecting Canada
Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada’s most important and one of North America’s busiest, recorded 46 centimeters of snow, the historical record for precipitation in a single day. The previous record dated back to 1966 with 36.8 centimeters of snow.
The situation has forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the rest are suffering significant delays.
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The city’s schools and universities are not operating this Monday. The same goes for most private daycare centers. However, those operated by the City of Toronto have decided to open their doors.
Toronto Police said that in the past 24 hours, 438 collisions have occurred in the city, while the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) estimated around 200 accidents on provincial highways and at least 150 cases of vehicles stuck due to accumulated snow.
Municipal workers are prioritizing clearing snow from the streets, a process that could take several days, and will then proceed to remove the tons of snow accumulated in the past 24 hours.
Montreal also feels the impact of the storm
The storm that caused this historic rainfall is now moving east across the country.
In Montreal, authorities reported today that a 66-year-old woman died in the last few hours in a city apartment that had been without electricity since Sunday. Police said they are investigating the circumstances of the death, although they have ruled out that it was a crime.
Thousands of people in the city, the second most important in Canada, have been without electricity since Sunday. In addition, a large part of Montreal’s schools will remain closed this Monday. The city woke up this Monday with a wind chill of -20 degrees, which will drop to -25 at night, and 10 centimeters of snow.
