The Oil Drum: Canada

Searching for survivors of Spanish flu

The project is specifically targeting British Columbians, though the researchers would hope to hear from survivors from further afield as well, Dr. Skowronski said.

She believes that as well as safeguarding a piece of history, the project could help people contemplating future pandemics to understand how people cope when systems are overwhelmed and survival comes down to individuals helping individuals.

"I think it's really hard for people to appreciate -- and governments in particular -- to appreciate the potential enormity of a pandemic," she said.

"But the basic human capacity to cope, to draw on each other for support -- that hasn't really changed [since 1918]. And so we can really learn, I think, from people and what they have to describe about that."