Hurricane Hazel, One Family's Story

The only thing predictable about hurricanes is that they will occur every year. After the tragic stories and loss of life and property people seem to want to go back to the same locations and the same dangers. Nothing seems to change. They are allowed back, to live out lives endangered each year, by living close to water that can surge and take their lives.

In Toronto, in October 1954, we learned a lesson not yet forgotten by our city fathers. If you build on floodplain land you will lose houses and residents down the rivers if there is a hurricane that hits us. Our Conservation Authority was born out of this horrible night that saw streets, residents and their houses float down the Humber River and out into Lake Ontario.

My story tells a tale that we must continue to remember as governments get greedy and consider taking away power from the Conservation Authority in order to enrich developers. You will learn what happenes when you build too close to water and what could happen if the Greenbelt is endangered.

Hurricanes don’t often traverse this far north or this far inland, but they can, and with climate change they may, more often. We need to understand the peril we could face by examining what went wrong in 1954. Hurricane Hazel still stands as one of the worse hurricanes to hit North America. Reading this novel will educate readers in the chaos a hurricane could bring and why we need to be vigilant when politicians forget the lessons learned.