page_title: Effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada
section_title: Infrastructure
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada / Impact / Infrastructure
caption_attribution_description: St. Phillips Road connects Weston Road to Scarlett Road north of Lawrence. On the other side of the Humber River is the entrance to Weston Golf Club. The point from which this picture was taken was about 10 ft below the high water mark of the flood during Hurricane Hazel, so this bridge had been completely underwater by at least 10 ft.
context_page_description: The effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada included 81 deaths and C$137,552,400 in damages. Hazel, the deadliest and costliest storm of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season, reached Toronto, Ontario by the evening of October 15, 1954. It peaked as a category 4 storm, but by the time it reached Canada, it was an extratropical category 1 storm after merging with an existing cold front south of Ontario. Due to an area of high pressure to the north-east, Hazel stalled over Toronto and lost most of its moisture.
  The worst-affected areas were communities near the Humber River, Holland Marsh, and Etobicoke Creek. Prone to flooding, the Humber River raced downstream from Woodbridge when an earthen dam failed. In the weeks prior to Hazel, Toronto had received copious amounts of rain, and the soil could not hold as much as 200 mm of rain; consequently, over 90% of it went into Toronto's waterways. The Humber heavily flooded Weston, and killed 35 people in Raymore Drive. Holland Marsh was severely flooded; while no one was killed, the economic losses were severe as the region's crops were harvested but not collected.
context_section_description: With river and stream levels rising, Toronto's infrastructure took a heavy hit. Not built to withstand serious flooding, as it is in a climate area that does not see exceptionally prolonged or heavy rainfall, over 50 bridges, many part of important highways, were heavily damaged or put out of commission, when high water itself washed them out or debris in the water smashed them. Numerous roads and railways were also washed out.
  Highway 400 was arguably the most-affected road. The highway passes directly through Holland Marsh north of Toronto, where it was under as much as 3 m (9.8 ft) of water in some places when as much 6.1 metres (20 ft) of water backed up from Lake Simcoe. At the Cookstown Cloverleaf, the road was washed out in both directions, which left 350 people stranded at a service station. Finally, between Cookston and Barrie, three culverts carrying the roads were destroyed. Many other highways were affected by bridge and other structural damages, which included Highways 2, 5, 7, 11, 26, 27, and 49. There were a few fatalities due to car crashes; for instance, one person died when his car plunged into a cave-in on Highway 7. Communities affected by bridge washouts included Scarborough (10 entire bridges, and six bridge approaches), Markham (11 in their entirety and three approaches), and North York (seven in their entirety). The damage to roads and bridges caused long-term economic and transportation problems. With Hazel arriving relatively close to winter, only temporary fixes could be made, which did not withstand the spring thaw.
  Railways were also affected by the rising waters. Passenger trains were disrupted, and there were two fatalities when a train hit a washout near Southampton.
  Mariners on Lakes Erie and Ontario heeded warnings, and avoided any loss of life. As a result of high waves on Lake Ontario, the National Yacht Club incurred over C$100,000 (2009: over C$800,000) in damages. At the base of Etobicoke Creek, a boathouse incurred over $30,000 (2009: approximately $250,000) in damage, while twenty-five boats were swept into the lake at Oakville, including the Harbour Master's boat. That boat became a ward of the court after the salvaging company claimed ownership but the previous owners disagreed, and argued that the vessel was not abandoned since it was lost as a result of an "Act of God".
caption: The St. Phillips Road bridge, pictured the day after, was under at least 10 ft (3.0 m) of water at the height of the flood.[1]
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