Washed Away

The element of water is essential to survival and often seen as the most lifegiving element on Earth. In some regions it is a scarcity, but in others, its volume can overcome us, taking lives instead of sustaining them.

Hurricane Hazel: The circumstances that surrounded the appearance of Hurricane Hazel in October 1954 were totally unexpected. Having laid a path of destruction through the Caribbean and Carolinas, Hazel settled inland over the Alleghenies and was expected to die a natural death. Here, however, she re-fueled with the help of a low-pressure system and rushed towards Lake Ontario in Canada. While the hurricane struck Toronto with forceful winds and rain, the destruction was due more to the inadequately prepared flood plains. Whole streets disappeared near the banks of Toronto's rivers, taking with them over eighty victims. One survivor was a newborn child, plucked from her father's arms moments before her family was washed down the river with their home. Many of Toronto's beautiful riverside parks are a result of the city's desire to never again put her citizens in the path of this type of disaster.

The 1960 Great Chilean Tsunami: In an M9.5 earthquake, the largest recorded this century, pressure between two major convergent plates finally gave way, vibrating all the way to the Earth's core. Several shocks caused the land to sink as much as 7 feet and rise as much as 13 feet in different places. A destructive Tsunami spread up the coast and across the Pacific Ocean at speeds up to 442 miles per hour. The tsunami reached Hawaii in 15 hours killing 61 people and 8 hours later, struck the Japanese coast, killing 185 more. A volcano in Chile also became active and erupted.