A recent flood at a Toronto Community Housing Corporation apartment building that forced many residents to wear rain boots indoors underscores a larger issue: outdated infrastructure.
On Friday, several radiators broke at a North York TCHC building located at 121 Humber Blvd., flooding several floors. Water measuring approximately 2.5 centimetres high seeped into many homes, forcing residents to wear rain boots inside and to pile their soaked belongings outside in the hallway.
The floodwater has since been cleaned up in resident Nicole Paris' home, but she is now dealing with the damage left behind by the flood.
"Now there's probably mold in the walls because of all the water," she told CTV Toronto Monday. "A lot of (my daughter's) toys have been destroyed and it sucks … I know they're just toys, but they are hers. So I had to throw away lots of different things."
According to the TCHC, the cause of the flood can be traced to renovation work being done in the building's laundry room. Officials say when the power was turned back on in the building, the surge overwhelmed the radiators, and water eventually seeped into 41 units.
Crews were at the building on Monday to repair some of the damage. TCHC interim CEO Greg Spearn said they are working 16-hour days to repair the problems.
"As of right now, all units are back with heat and hot water and everything is fine, and we hope it doesn’t happen again," he said.
Spearns adds, however, that the recent flood is part of larger issue.
Many of the TCHC's 2,200 apartment buildings are outfitted with outdated infrastructure that is approximately 50 years old, meaning flooding is not uncommon.
"Fifteen buildings in the portfolio in February alone have had this kind of issue happen. It's just because of the age of the building," Spearn said. "It was inevitable that something like this would happen."
With a report from CTV Toronto's Colin D'Mello
