Hurricane Hazel

On October 8, two crew members on reconnaissance aircraft were injured due to turbulence while observing Hazel; one was severely enough injured to require hospitalisation.[22] The ABC Islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, located north of Venezuela, received rough winds and rains of up to 9.8 inches (250 mm) when the intensifying cyclone passed to the north. Flash flooding in Aruba and Curaçao destroyed a bridge and several water dams and resulted in losses of $350,000 (1954 USD).[23] Puerto Rico suffered its worst flooding since 1899 as a result of the hurricane. Due to timely warnings, only nine people were killed (eight by drowning and one by a landslide), but infrastructure, buildings, and agricultural areas suffered serious damage, and over 11,000 people were evacuated from flooded areas.[24]

In Haiti, Hazel brought flash floods which destroyed numerous villages, and high winds which caused considerable damage to major cities. The death toll was estimated to be as high as 1,000 people; most of the casualties drowned when the water flowed in a flood down the mountains, some of which were as high as 2,400 m (8,000 ft). The situation was exacerbated by deforestation, which lessened the ability of the soil to hold water. Haiti's South Peninsula took the brunt of the storm: the largest town, Aux Cayes, reported at least 200 casualties, while the second-largest town of Jérémie was reported to have been washed in the sea, with at least 200 more casualties.[25] Damage in Aux Cayes was estimated to be $500,000 (1954 USD).[26] Estimates of people left homeless in the wake of Hazel are as high as 100,000.[19] Hazel destroyed about 40 percent of the coffee trees and 50 percent of the cacao crop, affecting the country's economy for several years.[27][28] Objects from Haiti, such as bowls, were reported to have been transported by the hurricane to the Carolinian coast.[29]

West of Haiti, the hurricane brought hurricane-force winds to Cuba.[3] A fisherman on the eastern tip of Cuba was killed by rough seas while trying to secure his boats.[12] Since the hurricane passed largely east of the Bahamas, only minor damage was reported there. Hazel passed directly over Inagua, where it claimed six lives when a sailboat capsized while taking shelter from the storm.[22]

In South Carolina, the storm produced 10–11 ft (3.0–3.4 m) tides along the coast.[30] Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, including about 80 percent of waterfront dwellings in Myrtle Beach. As a result of the high storm surge, the low-lying sandy barrier islands were completely flooded.[31] Two piers in Myrtle Beach were damaged. In North Myrtle Beach, a three-story hotel and an 800 ft (240 m) pier were washed out to sea. At Cherry Grove Beach, 75 residences were demolished, while at Pawleys Island, 40 homes were destroyed, while numerous others were damaged. One death occurred in South Carolina. Damage in the state totaled about $27 million.[30]

At landfall, the hurricane brought a storm surge of over 5.5 m (18 ft) to a large area of coastline, producing severe coastal damage; the damage was greater since the hurricane coincided with the highest lunar tide of the year.[32] Brunswick County, North Carolina, suffered the heaviest damage, where most coastal dwellings were either destroyed or severely damaged. For example, in Long Beach, North Carolina, only five of the 357 buildings were left standing.[29] The official report from the Weather Bureau in Raleigh, North Carolina stated that as a result of Hazel, "all traces of civilization on the immediate waterfront between the state line and Cape Fear were practically annihilated."[33] According to NOAA, "every pier in a distance of 170 miles [270 kilometres] of coastline was demolished".[22]

At the Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina, gusts of 90 mph (140 km/h) were recorded; in surrounding cities, including Kinston, Goldsboro, and Faison, wind gusts were estimated to have reached 120 mph (190 km/h).[34] With such high winds state-wide, heavy damage was caused to forests, and to property as a result of falling trees. However, since the Carolinas, like the rest of the Southeastern United States, were suffering from a severe drought, the heavy rainfall brought by Hazel was welcome. In North Carolina, the most rain was received in the interior of the state: Robbins received 286 mm (11.3 in) of rain, and Carthage received 247 mm (9.7 in).[33]

Nineteen people were killed in North Carolina, with several hundred more injured; 15,000 homes were destroyed and another 39,000 were damaged.[32] The number of people left homeless by the storm was "uncounted thousands".[35] Damages in the Carolinas amounted to $163 million, with $61 million incurred by beachfront property.[4][36] Total damage in the United States ranged from $281 million to $308 million.[20][36]

While Hazel caused the most damage in the Carolinas, the storm did not lose all of its intensity. Going north, Hazel turned extratropical by midday when it merged with a cold front; however, it retained hurricane-strength winds and it continued to drop heavy rainfall.[22][37]

In Virginia, wind gusts of over 100 mph (160 km/h) were observed at the Weather Bureau office in Norfolk. Roofs were blown off, trees and power lines were toppled, windows were shattered, and awnings were torn. The naval station suffered mainly minor damage to its temporary installations.[38] The tugboat Indian, carrying five barges, sank in the James River; four of the eight crew members drowned.[39] One building was demolished and several others were damaged in Portsmouth.[38] The ferry Princess Anne was beached into the docks at Kiptopeke.[39] An unfinished vessel at the Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News broke from its moorings and was swept into the shore of the James River. The roof of the customs house was detached and landed on the street.[38] In Richmond, 200 store fronts were damaged, while part of the steeple at Trinity Methodist Church was toppled. Additionally, a 150 ft (46 m) microwave tower in Warsaw was knocked over.[39] Approximately 50 percent of residents in Virginia lost telephone and electrical service for six days. The storm damaged approximately 18,000 homes and businesses. Overall, there were 12 deaths and about $15 million in damage.[39]

After North Carolina, the storm went through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. In general, power was knocked out and trees were downed. Wind gusts throughout the area reached 160 km/h (99 mph).[22][37] Effects of the storm was able to break the incomplete battleship USS Kentucky from its moorings when she was based in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as a parts ship, resulting in her running aground.

Though not near the center, a gust of 182 km/h (113 mph) was recorded in Battery Park, the highest wind speed ever recorded within the municipal boundaries of New York City.

Rain amounts were heavier on the western side of the storm. In West Virginia, the average amount of rain received was 230 mm (9 in) with localized amounts of 300 mm (12 in) reported in the Appalachians. To the north in Pittsburgh, only 90 mm (3.5 in) of rain was reported.[40]

To the east, the Washington, D.C. area was particularly affected, and considerable flooding was reported in the Virginias and Maryland. Much of the grounds of the Naval Academy in Annapolis were flooded, putting midshipmen to work the next day to clean up the debris. New Jersey escaped major flooding as the high tide was low enough, but to the south in Chesapeake Bay, the majority of crab pots were destroyed.[41] Hazel lost a considerable amount of moisture when crossing the Allegheny Mountains, which raised rivers and streams in the Pittsburgh area significantly above the flood mark. In Pennsylvania, the winds were still high enough to unroof several homes.[37]

In upstate New York, the storm blocked highways and railroads.[37]

The Lawrence Avenue bridge was washed out by the Humber River; part of it remained attached to the shore, while the rest was swept away.

After weeks of unusually high rainfall saturated the Greater Toronto Area, Hazel dropped additional rainfall, peaking at 8.4 in (214 mm) in Snelgrove, Ontario. In three hours, the city received 3.5 in (90 mm) of precipitation. Most of these rains ran off into rivers and creeks of Toronto, which raised water levels by as much as 20–26 ft (6–8 m).[6][16] Not built to withstand heavy flooding, Toronto's infrastructure took a heavy hit: over 50 bridges, many parts of important highways, as well as numerous roads and railways were destroyed when the high water washed them out or carried debris and smashed them.[43][44]

Floodwaters slowly rose in Holland Marsh – a bowl-shaped valley near Bradford – allowing people to escape to the town.[45] Highway 400, which passes through the marsh, was under as much as 10 ft (3 m) of water in some places when as much 6 m (20 ft) of water backed up. Much of the crops in the area were either swept away or ruined.[46] After the water pumps failed due to debris, better equipment allowed the Holland Marsh to be drained by November 13.[47] The Humber River in the west end of Toronto caused the most destruction as a result of an intense flash flood after most minor rivers and creeks drained into it.[48] A team of five volunteer firefighters were killed when their fire truck was swept away as they were responding to help a stranded motorist.[49] Communities in the Humber floodplain were devastated. In Woodbridge, the river swelled from its usual width of 20 m (66 ft) at its narrowest point to 107 m (351 ft), and left hundreds homeless and nine dead.[50] The Humber swept away 366 m (1,201 ft) of Raymore Drive and 14 nearby homes, killing 35 people out of the 81 Canadian fatalities. The rise of the river was unprecedented and the residents did not evacuate, which led to the high death toll.[48] The Etobicoke Creek also overflowed its banks at the village of Long Branch, killing seven people after many dwellings were swept into Lake Ontario.[51]

The death toll of 81 people has not since been equaled by a natural disaster in Canada. In addition to the casualties, over 4,000 families were left homeless.[52] The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada estimates the total cost of Hurricane Hazel for Canada, taking into account long-term effects such as economic disruption, the cost of lost property, and recovery costs, to be C$1.03 billion.[53]

In the aftermath of Hazel, a three-day period of national mourning was declared in Haiti for hurricane victims. With existing infrastructure already poor, the recovery was very slow since many of the few existing roads were blocked, and communications equipment was either out, damaged, or destroyed. The Haitian Red Cross appealed for assistance to the International Red Cross, while the American Red Cross made a donation of $25,000 (1954 USD). Pan American World Airways offered the use of its planes to assist with the delivery of aid,[54] and the US aircraft carrier USS Saipan deployed 18 helicopters to help deliver supplies.[55] Despite the relief effort, there was an outbreak of typhoid fever following Hazel due to a lack of clean water.[56]

In the Carolinas, the National Guard was mobilised by the evening of October 15 to prevent looting along affected areas of the coastline. On October 17, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared a "major disaster" in the Carolinas, and offered "immediate and unlimited federal assistance."[57] Recovery was quick, and by October 24, all but two units were demobilised. Another concern was the rebuilding of the sand dunes along waterfronts. An artificial sand dune barrier, 39 km (24 mi) long, was completed by October 30, which in the long run led to a more rapid natural build-up of larger dunes. With Myrtle Beach a popular tourist destination, the Chamber of Commerce began an information campaign to inform the public, which might have erroneously concluded from the massive media coverage that the city had been destroyed, that the city would be ready for the coming summer. The rebuilding after the partial destruction would transform Myrtle Beach from a "quaint summer colony to a high-rise resort city".[58]

A weir was built on the Humber River near Raymore Drive to lessen the risk of a similar catastrophic flood.

The army sent about 800 soldiers to Toronto to assist with the cleanup, providing blankets and mattresses. Toronto residents helped out with the relief effort: the Salvation Army received so many donations of clothes, footwear, blankets, food, and money that its storage facilities were overfilled, forcing it to advise against further donations until they were needed.[59] A Hurricane Relief Fund was established to coordinate financial donations, ultimately raising about $5.3 million (CAD). The fund received donations from organisations, companies, and individuals including Pope Pius XII, the Ford Motor Company of Canada, the United Church of Canada, Laura Secord Candy Shops, and the British-American Oil Company. A portion of the fund was set aside as a contingency reserve in the event of unresolved claims and also toward administrative expenses.[59]

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was created after the storm to manage the area's floodplains and rivers, such as building dams.[60] The heavily flooded areas were expropriated and barred from rebuilding homes, and most of the land was later converted into an extensive park system along Toronto's rivers. A footbridge dedicated to the victims crosses the Humber river in Raymore Park, which was the former Raymore Drive.[61]

As a result of the catastrophic damage and severe death tolls in the Caribbean, United States and Canada, the name Hazel was retired, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. However, since it was retired before the inception of naming lists with the modern six-year cycle, it has not been directly replaced with any particular name.[62]

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• Filey, Mike (2003). Toronto Sketches 7. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-526-0.
• Gifford, Jim (2004). Hurricane Hazel: Canada's Storm of the Century. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-448-5.
• Hairr, John (2008). The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina. Stroud, United Kingdom: The History Press. ISBN 1-59629-391-8.
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