
Flooding from Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Image by Martin Taylor
Communities on both sides of Lake Ontario are vulnerable to flooding by waters that can go up and down as much as six feet.
But Lana Pollack, the U.S. Chair of The International Joint Commission, says Canadians have created a protective buffer.
In the 1950s, Hurricane Hazel hit Toronto with a vengeance. The flooding killed more than 80 people and left more than 1,000 homeless.
Instead of rebuilding, the Ontario government bought up lake-front property.
“They began to create natural areas where people would otherwise have built their homes,” says Pollack.
Today, thousands of acres of wetland and forest areas provide Toronto with a natural buffer against flooding.
Get Schooled:
- Learn more about Hurricane Hazel and its aftermath, from Toronto and Region Conservation.
- Check out this page about how the hurricane affected flood control, from Kawartha Conservation.
- Read up on coastal flooding in the Great Lakes, from FEMA.
The fine print:
- This segment was produced in partnership with Cornell University’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future






