1954
Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Section 31 Lot 358
On the night of October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck Southern Ontario with catastrophic force. After devastating the US East Coast, the storm merged with a cold front and unleashed torrential rains over Toronto, more than 200 millimeters in less than 24 hours. The Humber River, already swollen from autumn rains, surged beyond its banks, sweeping away homes and bridges. Raymore Drive, a quiet street in Weston built on a floodplain, became the epicentre of tragedy.
When a pedestrian footbridge collapsed, floodwaters redirected onto Raymore Drive, destroying 14 homes and killing 32 residents within minutes. Among them were Ken and Joan Edwards and three of their children, including three-year-old Caroline, all buried at Mount Peasant. Two other Edwards boys, Frank and John, were never recovered. Ken’s sister, Jean Neil, and her three young daughters (Darlene, Susan and Adele) are also interred in this lot.
In total, Hurricane Hazel claimed 81 lives across Toronto, left nearly 1,900 families homeless and caused damages exceeding $1 billion in today’s dollars. The disaster transformed flood management in Ontario, leading to stricter zoning laws and the creation of conservation authorities to prevent similar future tragedies. Today, this resting place stands as a reminder of the night Toronto faced its deadliest storm.
Sources:
• Wikipedia – “Effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada”
• The Canadian Encyclopedia – “Hurricane Hazel”
• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) – “Hurricane Hazel’s Legacy”
• Canadian Military History (Bruce Forsyth) – “Raymore Drive Monument”
• Paperblog – “Raymore Drive: The Street That Disappeared”
• Just Sayin’ Caledon – “Hazel’s Legacy”
Photos:
• Storm surge flooding in Morehead City, North Carolina during Hurricane Hazel, National Weather Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Humber River, looking north from Islington Ave., east of Woodbridge (Vaughan, Ontario), Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, Toronto Public Library, Public domain
