Hurricane Hazel swept the U.S. Eastern Seaboard in mid-October 1954, eventually landing in the record books as one of the most deadly and enduring hurricanes. After punishing Haiti with mudslides that killed hundreds, Hazel edged northward, striking the Carolina coast as a ferocious category four. Landfall occurred near the South Carolina-North Carolina border, where a massive surge washed over barrier beaches and swept away hundreds of homes. Coastal communities like Myrtle Beach, Long Beach, Carolina Beach, and Wrightsville Beach caught the brunt of the storm tide and suffered heavy damages. Hazel barreled inland and battered eastern North Carolina with 100-plus mile-per-hour gusts that toppled trees and power lines and peeled away rooftops. It then raced northward, setting new wind records across seven states. In Ontario, it spawned flash floods that became the most deadly in Canadian history. When it was all over, Hazel had killed more than 1,000 and left a trail of destruction across the hemisphere. But nowhere was its impact more dramatic than in the Carolinas For more than 20 years, Tar Heel native jay Barnes has studied and written about America's hurricane history. In Hurricane Hazel in the Carolinas, he shares dozens of striking photographs from his collection along with his insights into the nature of this benchmark hurricane The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Throughout her ground-breaking career in business and politics, Hurricane Hazel McCallion has seen it all. In 1978, she defeated a popular incumbent to win election as mayor of Mississauga, a rising city near Toronto that was, until then, a collection of towns, villages and farms. No one would have foreseen that the indomitable Hurricane Hazel would become so wildly popular she would remain mayor until 2014, retiring at age 93. Within months of taking office, Mayor McCallion orchestrated the largest Canadian peacetime evacuation at the time after a train derailed and put almost 250,000 Mississauga residents in harm's way of deadly chlorine gas. The incident made her an international media star and cemented her reputation as a plain-speaking, decisive political leader. She's been courted by federal and provincial parties over the years but turned them all down, declaring, "I could never toe the party line. I'd wear out the carpet crossing the floor." In her memoir, McCallion writes about her early years as the feisty mayor of a growing city; battles with politicians and business leaders; her love of hockey and abhorrence of on-ice violence; where the feminist movement misses its mark; and how she watched and dealt with her beloved husband's fall into the grip of Alzheimer's. Hazel's run as the leader of one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada has been nothing short of remarkable. The book is the story of Hazel's political, personal and business life, with all of its bumps and bruises along the way, as honest, bold and straightforward as the woman herself.

The weather forecast for the evening of October 15, 1954 was simply “rain tonight.” In fact, the hurricane was a devastating one. The storm swept from North Carolina up into Canada. In Toronto, Ontario, the official death count was 81, but it was probably much higher because the many people living in the ravines were not part of the census. Penny Doucette was 8 years old on the night the storm raged in Toronto. She, her parents, and their elderly neighbor found themselves clinging to the roof of the house as they watched the house next door float away on the swollen Humber River. Augmenting the dramatic story are illustrations, archival photographs, and fascinating information about hurricanes: their causes, their history, and lore. Published for the fiftieth anniversary of Hurricane Hazel, this is a valuable resource for young readers.

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Caught in the eye of a hurricane! Would you survive? Michael reached for something -- anything -- to stop him from sliding off the roof, but there was nothing to hold on to. Nothing. He fell into the darkness and splashed into the icy water. The streets of Michael's Toronto neighbourhood were saturated, the Humber River swollen from days of pounding rain. Hurricane Hazel was devastating the Caribbean and southern United States, but no one expected Hazel to reach Toronto. No one was prepared. When the river overflows its banks, Michael's house is in danger of being swept away. Fleeing his home through the roof -- his only way of escape -- Michael plummets into the freezing water. How will he make it out alive? Hurricane Hazel was a category 4 hurricane that struck Toronto on the night of October 15, 1954. Winds of 110 km/hour and 285 mm of rain over 48 hours hit Toronto. Thousands were left homeless. Eighty-one people died in Toronto when waterways flooded, thirty-five of them on Raymore Drive near the Humber River.