OGDEN, ALBERTA (TheBadgerCA) – As Charles Lipping, 34 received word that he and his family could re-enter his home, he and his family who had been uprooted due to torrential flooding that caused thousands of dollars damage to his and other surrounding homes.
As he surveyed the damage and attempted to gather his family’s now water-damaged belongings, word trickled in that Toronto was hit with roaming blackouts throughout the morning rush hour, in some cases leaving hundreds of homes without power for upwards of ten minutes at a time.
Lipping’s cousin Tyler Boone, a 29-year old graphic designer in the Liberty Village area, was in Toronto at the time of the severe blackouts. Lipping showed his worry while mopping up sewage run-off that had pooled in the family’s basement den. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. I hear it’s causing no end of traffic snarles and that. I haven’t been able to get hold of him all morning. I mean, yeah, I’ve got a load of drywalling to get replaced, have to check my foundations, we’re going to be boiling water for a while, but I can’t get ahold [sic] of Tyler. His phone just goes to voicemail. It’s terrifying.”
At the time of publication, power has been restored to the city of Toronto and Boone has yet to reply to Lipping’s voice mail message. He is assumed to be in a department status meeting having arrived late due to inoperable streetcars.