Once a year, around the holidays, I want to share the story of a disaster that didn’t happen – a tragedy that, whether through luck, the bravery of those involved, or simple good planning, was averted. In this story, everyone survives… although it’s definitely a close call.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – Background
01:46 – The Mississauga Miracle
07:33 – The Aftermath
MUSIC:
► “Glass Pond” by Public Memory
SOURCES:
► “How planning and bravery amid massive explosions led to the ‘Mississauga miracle'” by Sahar Fatima, published by The Hamilton Spectator, November 2019. Link: https://www.thespec.com/news/ontario/2019/11/10/how-planning-and-bravery-amid-massive-explosions-led-to-the-mississauga-miracle.html
► “Mississauga Train Derailment” by Heritage Mississauga. Link: https://heritagemississauga.com/mississauga-train-derailment/
► “Mississauga Miracle: Remembering the disaster that forced 240,000 people to flee” by Mike Wise, published by CBC, November 2019. Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mississauga-miracle-remembering-the-disaster-that-forced-240-000-people-to-flee-1.5354329
► “1979 train derailment became known as the Mississauga Miracle” by Carola Vyhnak, published by the Toronto Star, November 2017. Link: https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/once-upon-a-city-archives/2017/11/16/1979-train-derailment-became-known-as-the-mississauga-miracle.html
► “The Mississauga Evacuation” by Ian Burton, Peter Victor, Anne Whyte, Mel Kliman, David Powell, Larry Schmidt, Peter Timmerman, Joanne Wojick, published by the Ministry of the Solicitor General of Ontario, June 1981. Link: http://cidbimena.desastres.hn/docum/crid/Diciembre2004/pdf/eng/doc4131/doc4131.htm
CORRECTIONS:
► In this video I incorrectly refer to Toronto as a “state capitol”. Canada is divided into provinces, not states, and so Toronto is actually the *provincial* capital of Ontario. This error is entirely my own!
► At one point in this video I say that this was the largest evacuation ever to take place on American soil, when in fact I should have said “North American soil”
#Documentary #History #TrueStories
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A couple of corrections for this video:
►Instead of describing Toronto as a "state capitol", I should have said that it was the capital of the province of Ontario (Canada has provinces and territories rather than states)
►Instead of describing this as the largest evacuation "on American soil", I should have said "North American soil"
Both mistakes were entirely down to my own misreading and/or misunderstanding – massive thanks to everyone who pointed them out!
So many train cars so many opportunities for something to go wrong
Thanks for mentioning the pets. It is always something I worry about with videos about disasters of this size – what happened to them?
Kinda similar to the Viareggio derailment. You should consider it for a video.
Weird how I get this recommended right after the East Palestine derailment…
Thank you, “Hurricane” Hazel for making Mississauga the great city it now is!
This video seems like De javue for whats happening in ohio right now.
"largest evacuation on american soil" -Mississauga, Canada
0:45 Canada doesn’t have states. You meant the provincial capital
I remember that day. We even went looking for where the giant fireball was coming from as it looked only about a half mile away. After driving for 15 minutes, we weren't getting any closer and decided we probably didn't want to get that close if it was that bad. Went back home and a short time later, were told we had to evacuate for about 3 days. Quietest mass evacuation in history. There wasn't even a traffic jam.
Wait!! This is the film white noise
I was a School Bus Instructor/Dispatcher at a yard just up the road (Mavis) when this occurred. I was called in and we dispatched at least 30 buses to ferry people to shelter.
Oh, the Good Times! No injuries or deaths were a result and testament to the brave 1st responders, of the day. 🔥🚧👏'Hurricane Hazel' passed away this past year. What a woman!!
Dude. This is Canada not America.
State capital??
To my eastern Canadian neighbors, much love from Alaska, I love all the heart that you guys have coming together in times crisis, couldn't ask for better neighbors. ❤🙂❤
This story is indeed a genuine miracle
My fellow (adult) Canadians will be reminded of the Heritage Minutes commercial of the Halifax Explosion of 1917. "That ship is gonna blow!" "Come on come on, acknowledge!"
Canadian Pacific Railway or CPR for short, founded in 1881. A historic company that completed the first transcontinental railroad through Canada in 1885. Considered to have united Canada, not only geographically but poltically.
So well handled! Everyone put their part in, and no one died due to their consequence. Props. What a wonderful Mayor as well, I hope she lives on until she dies peacefully in her sleep.
Hazel just died today, February 14th 2023.
i’m too emotional sometimes, at the end when you mentioned the pets were taken care of and how the mayor continued to work tirelessly through her sprained ankle made me tear up :’)) it’s nice to see disasters be negated by brave quick-acting people
I'm glad they can look back at it and feel proud of themselves. It is amazing what they accomplished.
Ohio's Palestine could really use this level of hard work and relief right now.
Jeez! What happened to humanity? We actually gave a care about each other more than we do now! If this happened today, Mississauga wouldn't exist!
This is how an elected official should act in a catastrophe such as this! She was rewarded with re-election as she should be
Seeing this, I'm even more embarrassed for how the US is handling these
I’m glad to hear that they are using this to train other cities’ emergency personnel and citizens. I would have loved to meet that mayor— talk about class and grace under pressure! She’s a true role model along with all the people who dealt so effectively with the disaster and helped each other.
The United States needs a dose of this rational, civil, unity of purpose. Instead, politicians and greedy business groups are dividing everyone and cutting corners.
Whether or not we realize it, the United States is experiencing a disaster buildup. Between higher prices, a teetering housing market, predatory lenders smelling blood in the water, the decline of human interaction for several years, and rich corporate investors/owners “streamlining operations” for higher profits by replacing workers with computers or robots- or jobbing out the work to other countries, our political and corporate “leaders” have created the perfect storm that will probably put us into serious economic and civil turmoil. This needs to be a house United.
seems a lot like the recent ohio incident, except canada handled it much better and did evacuate people.
It's nice to know that sometimes even when everything goes wrong, everything also goes right. It gives one hope that mankind isn't marching blindly to their own destruction and humanity will survive.
EPA please take note, this is how you handle this sort of thing.
Luckily nowadays, train derailments with chemical spills are no more!
Only miracle to come out of Mississauga these days is overnight Amazon shipping
RIP HURRICANE HAZEL
How many of these people that lived near these areas have illnesses or terminal cancers?
Good on you Mississauga