The City of Halifax 25 Terrific nature of the explosion 26 Destruction of life and property 26 The subsequent fire and storms 29 Annihilation of homes 31 Arresting of business 31 Disintegration of the social order 32 CHAPTER II CATASTROPHE AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Shock reaction 36 Hallucination 37 Primitive instincts 39 Crowd psychology 41 Phenomena of emotion 44 How men react when bereft completely 47 Post-catastrophic phenomena 48 Human nature in the absence of repression by conventionality, custom and law 49 Fatigue and the human will 52 The stimuli of heroism 55 Mutual aid 56 CHAPTER III CATASTROPHE AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION The organization of relief 59 The disaster protocracy 60 The transition from chaos through leadership 61 Utility of association 62 Vital place of communication 62 Imitation 63 Social pressure 63 Consciousness of kind 63 Discussion 64 Circumstantial pressure 64 Climate 65 Geographic determinants 67 Classification of factors 67 CHAPTER IV CATASTROPHE AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED) The reorganization of the civil social order 69 Division of labor 69 Resumption of normal activities 70 State and voluntary associations 71 Order of reestablishment 71 Effects of environmental change 75