A declining number of Toronto residents, most of whom are now in their 80s, remember living through Hurricane Hazel.

The weather forecast for October 15, 1954, simply said "rain."

What followed next was an unprecedented natural tragedy for Toronto that remains unrivalled to this day; Southern Ontario was hit by Hurricane Hazel, which is still considered to be the worst storm to ever hit Toronto almost seven decades later.

Hurricane Hazel was an Atlantic storm that hit Toronto over a Thanksgiving weekend. The sudden deluge outpaced forecasts and led to the flooding of the Humber, Don and Rouge rivers, sweeping communities away in its wake. Its impact was felt most in southern Ontario.

The hurricane claimed 81 lives, out of which 32 alone were reported from Raymore Drive along the banks of the Humber River, where several houses were swept away in the deluge.

Government of Canada

The area was flooded when flood waters surged into the river, rising six metres and sweeping away 14 homes. The storm caused millions in property damages, much of it concentrated on Raymore Drive.

These images were taken the day after Hurricane Hazel 69 yrs ago today...Protect the headwaters of the Humber River. Cancel #hwy413 repeal #Bill23 reinstate TRCA's powers, keep off all of the Greenbelt or this may happen again. pic.twitter.com/9soOi8jdy1

— Humber River Calling (@HumberRiverTO) October 16, 2023

The destroyed section of Raymore Drive along the banks of the Humber has since been converted into a park, while a weir was built adjacent to the disaster site as part of flood-control efforts.

Weir on the Humber River next to Raymore Park, where homes and bodies tragically flowed 70 years ago. Photo by Jack Landau.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Hurricane Hazel. Survivors, most of whom are in their 80s, recall what it was like to live through it.

For any young adult, 19 is a special birthday as it marks the end of their teen years. But for 88-year-old John Dowson, that 19th birthday is unforgettable to this day, not as a celebratory day, but for the tragedy that ensued.

"It's a day I can never forget because it was my 19th birthday. I was looking forward to having a birthday party that evening with my family and friends," Dowson said.

Dowson, who was living in Willowdale at 68 Parkview Avenue and was working in Orillia at the time, left his workplace for Toronto at 3 p.m. on the day the hurricane struck. By then, he said it had already been raining all morning.

"We noticed the long rain but were unaware of a hurricane. I noticed the high banks of the road had washed out, and there was sod and debris on the road. We headed south on Hwy 11 and met the 400 just north of Barrie," he said.

"The 400 was drifting over with water, which we thought was strange, and as we approached the Holland Marsh, the 400 was covered with water. Cars were backed up and slowly driving through the water over the marsh towards Toronto and home. Later that day, we learned that we were the last car across the Holland Landing on the 400 before it was closed because of flooding." 

He didn't want to be deterred by the onslaught and stuck to his plans of meeting his friends for drinks. But the creek near his house had swollen.

"I couldn't drive up Parkview because the creek had flooded the road. Cars were stuck in the water," Dowson said.

"That's when I was told it was a Hurricane. I drove in the rain to pick up my girlfriend and her friends to go to The Legion to have an illegal beer because we were underage, 21, and it was my birthday. I wasn't going to be denied my birthday beer. When we got there, The Legion was flooded," he said.

"At midnight, it stopped raining. It had rained steady for 16 hours, and every culvert and creek and river was overflowing with water. My birthday was a washout," Dowson said.

He says that the "aftermath was devastating" and recalls that the Army had to be brought in for rehabilitation work.

"The next day, there was no way in or out of Toronto. The east and west Don River bridges were out, the Humber River bridges were out, as were some rail lines," he said.

Dowson, who was a member of the 48th Highlanders reserve army regiment, says that the unit and other reserve army units were called to search for bodies.  

"The army brought in Bailey Bridges to bridge the rivers after the water had subsided. I was on a crew at the Hoggs Hollow bridge on Yonge Street," he said.

David Thomas was 11 years old at the time. He was at his home "north of the tracks, just south of King St." with a friend from school who was spending the long weekend with him. He recalls seeing dead pigs and a cow floating "off the shore at Sunnyside."

"[I] didn't know enough to be scared, and I remember being more excited than scared…maybe because we lived in a brick home," Thomas said.

He says that in the aftermath, he saw neighbours coming out to help neighbours.

An Almanac data search on Environment Canada lists October 15, 1954, under "Greatest Rainfall" for a single day in Toronto. According to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), a conservation body that came into effect in 1957 under amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act, the storm brought 285 mm of rainfall in 48 hours.

Anya Busigin, who was four at the time and lived on Dufferin Street at Queen Street West, thought it was a "great swimming pool."

"Mom was hiding in the basement because she's terrified of storms. When I looked outside, I saw the water level up to the door handle of our car and thought God had given us a great swimming pool. Of course, I wanted to go out and give it a try," Busigin said.

She remembers her father taking her to the porch and introducing her to hurricanes.

"I've loved storms ever since," she said.

For Lynda Gallagher, the events unfolding outside her house were a matter of curiosity.

"I was about 9 or 10, living above some stores on Yonge in Toronto. I remember looking out the window and seeing trees, garbage cans, just about everything fly by, hydro lines on the road. My mother yelling to get away from the window, but I was curious," Gallagher said.

She says that she saw "massive trees uprooted on side streets."

"[It] took weeks to clean it up," she said.

Hurricane Hazel left a lasting legacy on generations of Canadians. Alison Livey Gibbins, who wasn't yet born at the time, recalls an anecdote that her neighbours told her.

"I wasn't alive, but I remember our neighbours on Bonnyview Drive tell us that they had to be rescued from their roof by a boat," Gibbins said.

Today in 1954, Hurricane Hazel hit Toronto, becoming the worst natural disaster in the city's history.

The hurricane was first identified on Oct. 5, 1954 off the coast of Grenada.
At 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, the hurricane began to dump heavy rain on Toronto.
At 7 p.m. there was a… pic.twitter.com/fcvIeyuNvZ

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) October 15, 2023

The hurricane's impact led the City to implement regulations that restricted new development in floodplains.

Some projects like Waterfront Toronto's Port Lands Flood Protection Project that look at the city's expansion are working at changing the location of floodplains. This in turn will create opportunities for redevelopment.

Infrastructure undertakings are something that worried Thomas. "I've always wondered how the several high-rise buildings west of Scarlett Rd. at East Drive were allowed to be built," he said.