On the night of September 2, Toronto was hit by an extraordinary storm that city officials described as a “100-year storm,” with more than 100 mm of rain falling in some parts of the city. The storm caused widespread flooding, power outages, and road closures across Toronto, including along the Don Valley Parkway.
Unfortunately, Evergreen Brick Works, home to Outward Bound Canada’s Toronto operations, was once again among the places affected.
It was an especially difficult sight for us. Just over two years ago, a major flood caused extensive damage to our space, equipment, and vehicle. Following the 2024 flood, we took steps to reduce our vulnerability to future flooding and better protect our operations. We moved gear and supplies into waterproof containers and raised equipment approximately three feet off the ground. Food and other supplies were stored on tables and shelving, well above floor level.
Evergreen also made significant improvements across the Brick Works following the 2024 flood, including upgrades to site drainage and monitoring, enhanced waterproofing, and the elevation of critical systems. Combined with flood-resilient features already built into the site, these changes helped the Brick Works drain and recover more quickly after this year’s flood.
The City of Toronto has also been examining how to better protect flood-vulnerable areas. Following the July 2024 storm, City Council directed staff and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to explore additional measures to reduce flood risk and minimize future impacts in the Lower Don River and Don Valley Parkway area.
But this time, the water rose beyond the measures we had put in place at our Toronto base.
When we first saw security camera footage from the space on the night of the storm, we hoped the damage might not be as severe as what we experienced in 2024. Unfortunately, the water continued to rise after the building lost power. Once our team was able to safely access the site and begin assessing the damage, it became clear that the situation was much worse than we had initially hoped.
The water rose higher than the three-foot level where we had stored our gear, reaching our lockers and getting into waterproof containers. It rose high enough to tip over shelving holding gear and equipment, as well as the fridge containing expedition food, and to reach above the tables where additional food was being stored. Outside, the floodwater rose above the ceiling of our program truck.
We’ve lost a significant amount of outdoor gear, as well as our program truck, and we expect to be without access to our space at Evergreen Brick Works for at least the month of September.
Our team is now working through what this means for upcoming Toronto programs. We’re contacting affected groups and exploring options to reschedule programs where necessary, while assessing what equipment can be saved and what will need to be replaced. There’s also a significant cleanup ahead of us.
Experiencing two major floods in just over two years has made it clear that we need to keep thinking about how we prepare for extreme weather. Although both OBC and Evergreen introduced new flood mitigation measures after the 2024 flood, the water reached levels this time that we simply hadn’t anticipated.
It’s also a reminder that preparing for flooding doesn’t necessarily mean preventing it altogether. As Evergreen shared in its own update, the measures implemented across the Brick Works helped water move through and drain more quickly this time, allowing the site to recover faster. But two so-called “100-year” floods in just over two years show how much more work there is to do.
For OBC, the next step will be looking at what else we can do to better protect our Toronto programs in the long term. Once the immediate cleanup is behind us, we’ll work with our partners to evaluate additional flood mitigation measures and consider what our Toronto operations will need to remain resilient as extreme weather events become more frequent.
We don’t have all those answers yet. Right now, our focus is on supporting affected groups, salvaging what we can, cleaning up the space, replacing essential equipment, and finding ways to keep programs running.
How you can help
If you’d like to support our Toronto team as we clean up and recover, there are two ways you can help:
Volunteer with the cleanup
We have a lot of work ahead of us and would be grateful for some extra hands. If you’re in the Toronto area and would like to volunteer to help our team clean up at Evergreen Brick Works, please contact urban_wild@outwardbound.ca.
Support our recovery
The damage to our Toronto base is significant. Outdoor equipment, expedition supplies, food, storage systems, and our program vehicle have all been affected, and the full cost of recovery is still being assessed.
Your donation will help OBC recover from the flood, replace essential equipment, and keep outdoor programs accessible to youth in Toronto. It will also help us prepare for what comes next as we look at how to make our Toronto operations more resilient to future extreme weather.
Thank you to everyone who has already reached out, checked in on our team, and offered to help. We’ll continue sharing updates as we learn more and work through what comes next.
