City drain blockage blamed for North York home flooding
Wet, muddy mess in basement as family told insurance won't cover damage
A North York family is wondering who's going to pick up the bill after a blocked storm drain flooded their home — even though they warned the city three times the problem needed fixing.
Carlo Carlucci said he's facing tens of thousands of dollars in basement flood damages after a heavy rain on Monday.
"The backyard was like a tsunami. My whole backyard was under water," he told CBC News, as his family copes with a wet, muddy basement filled with soggy, damaged furniture.
Carlucci said normally city crews clean out the creek behind his home when debris builds up and blocks an industrial storm drain.
But lately that hasn't happened, he said.
"This year nobody showed up. Even though I called three times. They never showed up," he said.
"The last couple years we didn't have anything, because they were coming on time."
30-50 millimetres of rain fell last night
Carlucci said the only time he saw a city worker was on Tuesday morning, after the damage was done.
The manager for the 3-1-1 phone line which handles inquiries about city services and the local councillor, David Shiner, were unavailable for interviews with CBC on Tuesday.
However officials with Toronto Water sent a statement saying they received 54 calls about sewer backups during the storm.
CBC Meteorologist Jay Scotland said Monday's downpour was a challenge to some city infrastructure.
"Between 30 to over 50 millimetres of rain fell," said Scotland.
"It was a lot of rain, but it was also the intensity of that rain falling in short period of time," he said.
Carlucci said his family's insurance company said it won't cover the damage because the water came from outside the home. The family does not have comprehensive flood insurance.
The family is now considering legal action against the city.