Written in bronze

Written in bronze

City’s parks the result of Hurricane Hazel

By Tom G. Kernaghan

A plaque now stands where water roared 50 years ago.

“It doesn’t mean anything until you realize that was the height of the water,” said author Mike Filey, who emceed the Oct. 16 unveiling of the plaque commemorating the night Hurricane Hazel hit the west end. Filey was referring to the seven-metre-high blue waves painted on the nearby Bloor Street viaduct, which mark where the Humber River’s water rose to on the night of the storm. “We are sitting in a lake,” he explained.

Plaque to commemorate 50th anniversary of Hurricane Hazel

Plaque to commemorate 50th anniversary of Hurricane Hazel

Record-breaking storm hit the west end the hardest

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Fifty years ago on the morning of Oct. 16, Torontonians awoke to the inconceivable: their city ravaged by a hurricane. Hurricane Hazel had left 81 people dead, thousands homeless, and a city in shock.

And this year, on Oct. 14 at 1:00 p.m., the Ontario Heritage Foundation (OHF), the Humber Heritage Committee (HHC), and the City of Toronto will mark the hurricane’s 50th anniversary by unveiling a commemorative plaque at King’s Mill Park (under the Bloor Street viaduct by the Old Mill subway station).

It was a dark and stormy night

It was a dark and stormy night

Hurricane Hazel hit with devastating swiftness

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Fifty years ago on the morning of Oct. 16, Torontonians awoke to the inconceivable: their city ravaged by a hurricane. For the unfortunate people on lower ground or near riverbanks, Hurricane Hazel had made its terrifying introduction several hours before. Eighty-one people were dead, thousands were left homeless, and the city was in shock.

Remembering Hurricane Hazel

Remembering Hurricane Hazel

Local residents recall high winds and flooding

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Fifty years ago on the morning of October 16, Torontonians awoke to the inconceivable: their city ravaged by a hurricane. Hazel had left 81 people dead, thousands homeless, and a city in shock.