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Aftermath – Hurricane Hazel

Hello, I am Richard Jordan. Hurricane Hazel, which struck Toronto on the evening of Friday, October 15, 1954, was the worst natural disaster in Ontario’s history. Eighty-one people died in the storm with Etobicoke suffering the majority of the deaths, mostly along the Humber River. Thirty-six people died when a subdivision was washed away on Raymore Drive just south of Lawrence Avenue. Seven died in Long Branch and five Etobicoke volunteer firefighters lost their lives while on rescue work near the Old Mill.


The weather forecast that day had called for record rainfall, but the rain received in the Toronto area was almost double the previous record. The real hazard however was flooding. No one expected normally placid rivers to turn into raging torrents, sweeping away everything before them.
In the aftermath of the storm, the militia was activated and some 800 part-time soldiers joined local first responders and community volunteers with rescue efforts. Their sad job mainly consisted of recovering bodies and burning huge mounds of debris that had once been homes and businesses.

Islington got off relatively lightly in the storm. The main damage was to the Dundas Street bridge over Mimico Creek which had its abutments washed out. The second floor of the Etobicoke Fire Department’s Islington station on Dundas Street West was transformed into the township’s make-shift morgue. Bodies were sorted by age and sex so that relatives identifying missing loved ones would be spared the horror of seeing all the many victims.

Recovery efforts also involved helping the over 1800 families that Hurricane Hazel had made homeless. Prior to the storm, there were no restrictions about building on the flood plains adjacent to watercourses. Many homes that weren’t washed away were damaged beyond repair. Church and other religious organizations joined with service clubs and government agencies to provide the necessities of life and then to help the affected people get back on their feet. There was an unprecedented, hugely successful fund-raising effort for victims of the storm.

One lasting aftermath of Hurricane Hazel was the creation of the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (now the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority) which established flood plain guidelines and flood control structures, and encouraged appropriate upstream land use to curtail flooding. Large storms such as Hurricane Hazel will certainly reoccur, but this level of death and destruction will hopefully be a thing of the past.

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4 different murals showing life in the past. They depict the Apple Packers; Islington's First Car; Sunday Afternoon; and the Village Shoe Maker. Artist: Sara Collard 2008.

Tags:   Village of Murals Village of Islington Toronto Ontario Canada Portraits from Our Past

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The mural depicts a scene from the Prohibition Era. A soft drink truck collecting bottles. Artist: John Kuna 2009.

Tags:   Village of Murals Village of Islington Toronto Ontario Canada The Pub with No Beer

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Gordon Dairy was a local landmark on this site in the 1940's. Artist: John Kuna 2008.

Tags:   Village of Murals Village of Islington Etobicoke Toronto Ontario Canada **Heart Awards** Gordon's Dairy

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Dundas Street West looking east from Cordova Avenue, around 1900. Artist: John Kuna 2005.

Tags:   Village of Murals Village of Islington Etobicoke Toronto Ontario Canada Level 1-Photography for Recreation Nice As It Gets-Level 1 The Way We Were Part I

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