Hazel was the big news 60 years ago

Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, October 14, 2014.

Newcomers don't remember. Many natives aren't old enough to remember. But folks who were living around here in October 1954 likely will never forget the hurricane named Hazel.

If you've been around the Cape Fear region for more than a couple of decades, you probably were here when Hurricane Fran caused widespread damage in 1996 – not only here, but also in Raleigh and other parts of the state. You may recall Floyd, the 1999 monster that caused considerable storm-surge damage to some local beaches but was best known for dumping 20 inches of rain in 24 hours, starting a slow-motion disaster that culminated with devastating floods across much of Eastern North Carolina.

According to old-timers, though, the benchmark is Hazel, which struck on Oct. 15 and 16, 1954, as a Category 4 hurricane. Its power, speed and storm surge tore through buildings, snapped trees, toppled power lines and shoved moored boats onto land with a vicious force.

Back then, Southeastern North Carolina was a well-kept secret. Population in Wilmington and along the beaches was much sparser than it is today, and many beach homes were modest cottages quite unlike some of the mini-castles that now line the state's oceanfront. Were a Hazel to make a direct hit on the region today, damage could easily reach several billion dollars.

It was bad enough.

Nineteen people died during Hazel's rampage in North Carolina. By the time it had steamrolled its way to Canada, 95 people were dead and the storm had done $281 million in damage in the United States – that's almost $2.5 billion in 2014 dollars, not accounting for the value of the structures that have been built in the six decades since the storm hit – and another $100 million in Canada.

Winds of up to 150 mph were felt at Holden Beach, and a mighty storm surge washed away or damaged hundreds of cottages and other buildings along Brunswick and New Han- over County beaches. In some areas along the Cape Fear coast, the storm surge reached as high as 18 feet.

Hurricane Hazel was the third and most powerful hurricane of 1954. Sixty years later, we have enjoyed a relatively quiet hurricane season, with the exception of a brush from Hurricane Arthur in July. Arthur was no Hazel. Damage was minimal, and the day after the storm blew through, annual Fourth of July events went on as planned.

There are still a few more weeks left in the 2014 hurricane season, but the threat to the Atlantic coast usually falls off around mid-October. That doesn't mean we should breathe easy yet – it is rare but not unheard of for a tropical system to brew up in November.

But we can be thankful that this season, anyway, we likely won't see another Hurricane Hazel.

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