Which hurricane is the deadliest in Canadian history?

Hurricane Hazel is the deadliest hurricane in Canadian history. When its remnants reached Ontario in October 1954, catastrophic flooding killed 81 people, most of them in and around Toronto.

Hazel had already caused enormous destruction elsewhere. It killed at least 469 people in Haiti, struck the Carolinas as a Category 4 hurricane, and caused 95 deaths in the United States. After crossing the eastern United States, it merged with a cold front and became an extratropical storm before reaching Canada.

The storm’s Canadian disaster was intensified by weeks of heavy rain that had saturated the ground. Hazel then dropped as much as 214 millimeters of rain near Toronto. The Humber River overflowed dramatically, sweeping away homes and vehicles; 35 people died along Raymore Drive alone.

Hazel also reshaped Canadian flood management. More than 4,000 families were left homeless, flood-prone land was converted into parkland, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was created. The hurricane’s name was eventually retired permanently.