Broken water main cripples downtown London, Ontario

November 2, 2007 Just before 5 a.m. on October 31, 2007, a water main broke underground in the middle of downtown London, Ontario at the intersection of Wellington and Dundas. As water gushed 5 metres up into the air the pavement slowly eroded over several hours eventually causing a giant sinkhole 9 m wide and 4 m deep; large enough for a city bus to hide in.

The quickly escaping water eventually flooded the entire basement of the Galleria Mall including the underground parking. The flooding affected several major electrical systems and left several downtown businesses over several blocks without power including City Hall, the Galleria Mall, both  TD Bank Buildings and CIBC until 9 p.m. that night.