'It was surreal': Localized flooding after downpour in Kitchener-Waterloo

Cleaning up from Sunday's storm From CTV Kitchener's Carmen Wong: The cleanup from Sunday's torrential downpour continued across the region on Monday.

KITCHENER — A storm brought strong winds, lightning and localized flooding to Kitchener-Waterloo on Sunday evening.

Heavy downpours began around 7 p.m.

Frank Seglenieks, the coordinator at the University of Waterloo Weather Station, said the area saw about 40 millimetres of rain.

"For the whole month of August we usually see a little over 80 millimetres of precipitation, so definitely over half of the months' precipitation happening in that one-hour period," he said.

Roads flooded in the area of Lodge Street and Weber Street North in Waterloo.

"It looked more like a river than anything," said Waterloo resident Curtis Horst.

At J&J Cards and Collectibles, the rain caused about four inches of flooding

"It was surreal, we felt like we could've almost swam through the store," said co-owner Jason Schill. "A lot of our products are paper-based so as soon as water hits it, they're in trouble."

He said some inventory, including cards, board games and collectibles on lower shelves, were unsalvageable.

The store was forced to close on Monday to sift through the damage.

Just down the street, Optical Illusions was also closed because of water damage.

"Clean up right now and trying to dry things out," said managing optician Doug Sulkowski. "Mould can grow very quickly so we need to get the moisture out or else it could become really serious."

The storm also ripped through many parts of southwestern Ontario.

In the town of Erin, the storm was deadly.

Ontario Provincial Police say 59-year-old William Elliot of Halton Hills died after he was injured at a golf course on Saturday night during the storm.

His death is under investigation.