The City of Burlington was responding to emergencies Monday night after a heavy storm passed through Southern Ontario, forcing residents to deal with flooded homes and road closures due to excessive water pooling in areas.

“The city and our emergency partners are encouraging everyone to stay home if you can,” said Kim Phillips, general manager of Burlington's community and corporate services, in a press release issued late Monday night.

“With this much rain in a very short time, a number of families will be impacted. Please be prepared to help your neighbours in need.”

Take precautions

The city is advising residents who are dealing with rising waters in flooded basements to shut off their power sources and their gas, if it is "safe to do so."

"If the situation is life-threatening, call 911," the city stressed. An emergency operation centre has been set up to help city officials deal with the flooding.

Earlier in the evening, the flooding forced the closure of Highway 407 and parts of the QEW. The Ontario Provincial Police warned via Twitter that these highway sections have been closed due to flooding:

  • QEW westbound lanes at Guelph Line;
  • QEW eastbound at Appleby Line; and
  • Highway 403's eastbound ramp to Highway 407 eastbound

Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 there have been reports of water up to the rooftops of some cars.

"This is an extreme weather event," Schmidt said.

GO Transit has temporarily suspended its Hamilton QEW express bus service. For information about highway closures, visit www.ontario.ca/511

Many people were sharing photos of flooded streets and highways on Twitter.