HURRICANE SEASON

As the Maritimes braces for Hurricane Earl and what he will bring, it reminds me of a childhood memory- Hurricane Hazel. That Hurricane in 1954 was one of the worst natural disasters for the Toronto area for decades. It is the reason there are deep ditches in many parts of the GTA in case there is flooding again. My main memory at age 4 is my mother's panic and having to go to the basement. I think that is why she was always afraid of storms. I thought it was just my mother who had that phobia until my 30's when I had a neighbour who would come to my house if she was alone during a thunderstorm. Every area of the world and home here in Canada can be affected by natural disasters. Manitoba has its periodic floods, tornados that have touched down coast to coast, the terrible forest fires in British Columbia and of course many winter blizzards that rain havoc. Back to Hurricanes. We are usually unscathed by them. However, history does tell us otherwise. What is your memory of a natural disaster that impacted your life? Do you try to be prepared in case of an emergency situation?