As if 2020 hadn’t been a challenging enough year, meteorologists’ predictions of an active hurricane season were accurate and we’ve exhausted the list of hurricane names.
Nova Scotians are fortunate in that a storm’s intensity, like the recent visit by Teddy, is often diminished before it reaches our shores. Sometimes, however, a hurricane hits with full force.
One of the most memorable and destructive was the Great August Gale of 1873, also called the Lord’s Day Gale.
The storm formed in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and stayed far enough offshore so as not to threaten the American coast. However, it saved its fury for what is now Atlantic Canada.
Landfall was on Saturday evening, Aug. 23, but the worst occurred from Sunday night to Monday morning. It would be a storm for the ages.
The hurricane brushed the coast of Nova Scotia, roaring past Guysborough County. It took direct aim on Cape Breton and then veered northeast before diminishing in strength as it crossed Newfoundland.
Heavy rain was accompanied by winds estimated at 185 km/hour.
Cape Breton Island suffered tremendous damage.
At Loch Lomond, a family fearing for their lives escaped to a barn. The barn was blown down and a woman was killed when struck by a piece of timber. The tragic irony was that the house remained intact.
It was estimated that on Isle Madame there were 68 heads of families lost at sea. The Good Intent, a schooner from Arichat, was found overturned and towed into Port Hood. Seven bodies were discovered in the cabin. It was evident by their position that they were praying when they perished.
At Gabarus, dozens of boats, five houses, 12 barns and all wharves, sheds and fishing gear were lost or destroyed. A church was lifted from its foundation and in Forchu a new church was entirely destroyed. A boat arrived in Forchu with survivors from a vessel that struck a rock on Scatarie Island. Of the 33 men on board, 19 were lost.
At North Sydney, a reported 25 vessels were driven ashore. The brig Valane went ashore opposite a local residence, her two spars protruding across Queen Street. A Newfoundland ship, the Hunter, broke away from the wharf and collided with every vessel on her way up the harbour, finally landing ashore next to a house. The gale destroyed the Archibald Wharf, and the waves inundated the nearby company offices. The Presbyterian Church was moved 30 feet and six local bridges were carried away.
In Cow Bay, a constant stream of ships awaited their precious cargo. Upwards of 50 vessels were destroyed and 10,000 tons of coal loaded aboard ships were lost. The Gowrie coal company wharves sustained heavy damage and the Blockhouse wharf was almost destroyed.
Tragically, Main-a-Dieu native John Leonard, captain of the Welcome Return, was lost overboard in the storm.
One of the tales of heroism comes from Cow Bay.
Capt. McArthur, accompanied by Capt. Martell and Ralph Candon, had a boat hauled over two miles of sand towards the stranded G.I. Troop. The crew of eight sailors were rescued from certain death.
There were many more tales of disaster all across Atlantic Canada. It is estimated that in Nova Scotia, there were 1,200 vessels and 900 buildings destroyed or damaged and 500 lives lost. Property losses were estimated in the many millions of dollars.
Sadly, much of the sorrow and hardship could have been avoided. There were a few federal government weather stations, but they regularly exchanged information between Toronto and Washington. Forecasters in Toronto knew about the storm a day in advance but could not send a warning because the telegraph lines to Halifax were down.
The public outrage over the lack of warning spurred the government to setting up a truly national weather system. By 1876, telegraph lines linked every major centre in Eastern Canada and the first Canadian-prepared forecasts were readily available to those whose lives and livelihood depended on it.
With modern technology, improved weather forecasting has afforded us the luxury of advanced warning to prepare for the worst that nature sends our way.
Hopefully, a storm the likes of the Great August Gale of 1873 will never again leave a legacy of death, suffering and devastation as it did almost a century and a half ago.
Ken MacDonald is a retired schoolteacher and administrator, and a community volunteer. His family can be traced back seven generations in Port Morien, where he has lived almost all his life.
