Living Through Disaster Since white settlement took place in Central Ontario, there has never been such a destructive flood as that which occurred as a result of Hurricane Hazel. We have, perhaps, been too complacent in the belief that such disasters did not happen in this favoured region. We were lamentably unprepared for the onslaught of the waters and have paid heavily in lives and property for that failure. The blow fell most viciously on the suburbs of Toronto, particularly those located in the Humber and Etokocoke-Mimico Creek watersheds. Some serious damage was also done on the Highland Creek in Scarboro and parts of the lower Don Valley were badly hit. Farther north, the ruin of the Holland Marsh area will be a serious blow to the market gardeners living there, and it will have a spreading effect on the life of the thousands in the city who have depended on Holland Marsh produce for food. In many cases, the destruction of homes resulted from their being too close to the flood level of the rivers. But so extraordinary were the quantities of water that fell on the area, that places where water had never flowed before became raging torrents. Because people had little or no warning, there was a considerable loss of life. There has been a great deal of hardship because of the damage done by the flood to home resources. People often fled with only the clothing they wore. To those who have lost loved ones there is sincere and general sympathy. The nature of the disaster, the power of the wind and the pounding deluge of the rain, brought home to people the terror of the event far more clearly than when the floods have been in distant parts of the country. There has been, undoubtedly, a clearer recognition than is often the case that most of the rest of us just missed destruction ourselves. In the circumstances, the response of the community has been splendid. During the night of the disaster, the Red Cross, the St. John Ambulance, the police and fire departments, did their level best in endeavouring to meet the need of the emergency. Hundreds of private citizens volunteered for dangerous and exhausting work throughout the night and the next day. The private radio stations rendered yeoman service in warning people of conditions, giving information, and acting as communications agents. The amateur radio operators also did an excellent job, about a hundred of them forming a network of communication. The Bell Telephone Company's mobile telephone units were invaluable. The local churches, the service clubs, and innumerable civic groups involving people in all walks of life sprang to provide food and clothing. Others searched for the missing, set up registry offices, where people could locate their friends and relations lost in the general confusion of that terrible night. There is something in the human makeup which responds most creditably to occasions like this, no matter how callous and indifferent we may seem to be in ordinary times. The public loss has been enormous, and in its spreading effects will continue to grow in the succeeding weeks and months. But in hundreds of homes throughout Central Ontario in the path of that great storm, strain and catastrophe will be unbidden guests, perhaps for years. Many will suffer the anguish of bereavement, their loved ones snatched from life by the raging torrent of the waters. For these, the flood will remain a bitter memory and the symbol of a day that will never return. Others will have lost the savings of a lifetime, the hopes and dreams of the future, and the pride of the present. For some, the penalty will be paid in poor health and premature death. Such events test the fortitude of a people as few things in life can do. Let us all meet the occasion with courage and go forward more prudent int he light of experience, and wiser than before. But let us most of all learn the danger of leaving nature uncontrolled. -- Globe and Mail.
