Once the tornado had passed, people
immediately began to search for others trapped and/or injured in wrecked
buildings. The work began in a haphazard fashion; men, women, children and even
guests from nearby hotels jumped in to help. In common with other young cities
of the time, Regina had no disaster plan in place so people had to step in to
take charge. Electricity, telephone and telegraph services were down. The
rescue effort became more orderly when the police from the Royal North-West
Mounted Police barracks arrived after the town picket rode out to the barracks
to alert them. Within an hour of the tornado the telegraph wire was restrung
and the message “Cyclone hit Regina 16.50k. City in Ruins.” was sent out to the
world.
The response was quick and by 7:15 a special
train had arrived from Moose Jaw with medical supplies, doctors and nurses.
Power was restored that evening but the telephone lines were still down and Boy
Scouts were pressed into service to deliver messages. The next day, July 1, the
Relief Executive was set up and was soon busy providing temporary shelter, food
and clothing. With so much to be done, Mayor Peter McAra sent out a
proclamation to postpone the Dominion Day celebrations and to close down the
hotel bars.
Medical services were overwhelmed by the
injured. Regina had two hospitals which were quickly filled so the wounded went to other centres which
had been set up. The injured were also cared for in private homes. It was a
logistical nightmare to find missing persons and to cope with all the injured.
Initial newspaper reports had higher casualties from the disaster. These
figures were whittled down once the count of displaced persons was completed.
Damaged homes on Smith Street, Regina, 1912
Regina Archives CORA-B-1028
Sources
Anderson, Frank (1980). Regina's Terrible
Tornado, June 30, 1912. Surrey, BC, Heritage House Publishing Company
Bingaman, Sandra (2011). Storm of the
Century: The Regina Tornado of 1912. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains
Research Center Press
Looker, Janet (2000). Disaster Canada. Toronto,
Ontario: Lynx Images Inc.
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