Hurricane Hazel facts for kids
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Track map of Hurricane Hazel
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| Formed | October 5, 1954 |
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| Dissipated | October 17, 1954 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 150 mph (240 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤ 937 mbar (hPa); 27.67 inHg |
| Fatalities | 600 - 1,200 direct |
| Damage | $381 million (1954 USD) |
| Areas affected | Grenada, Haiti, Bahamas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Toronto and southern and eastern Ontario |
| Part of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Hazel was the worst hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the worst hurricanes of the 20th century. Hazel killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States just south of Wilmington, North Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane. 19 people were killed in North Carolina, and 81 people were killed when it hit Toronto, Ontario. It is the strongest hurricane ever recorded to strike so far inland.
Images for kids
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The Weston Golf Club in Toronto was left submerged after the Humber River overflowed its banks.
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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.
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A weir was built on the Humber River near Raymore Drive to lessen the risk of a similar catastrophic flood.
