Editing 1918 Influenza Epidemic (section)

== The Crisis ==

October 1918 was a month of horror in Philadelphia. At the epidemic's peak, over 700 people were dying daily—more than the city could bury. Coffins ran out, and bodies accumulated in homes, hospital morgues, and temporary storage facilities. The city opened emergency hospitals but could not find enough nurses and doctors—many were serving in the military, and healthcare workers were themselves falling ill. Volunteers stepped forward to help, but the need exceeded any possible response. Churches, social clubs, and meeting halls were converted to hospitals. Street corner collection points gathered the dead for mass burial.<ref name="crosby"/>

Normal city life collapsed. Schools closed. Churches canceled services. Theaters and saloons shut down. The city banned public gatherings, but the restrictions came too late to prevent catastrophe. Factories struggled to maintain production as workers fell ill. The transit system operated with reduced service. Stores ran short of supplies as the distribution system broke down. Police and firefighters worked while sick or lost colleagues to the disease. The epidemic did not discriminate by class or neighborhood—though crowded, poor neighborhoods were hit hardest, the virus killed across all segments of society.<ref name="barry"/>