When disaster hits, it’s a good time for all of us to take stock. If you are in the path of a storm or a hurricane—like the people along the Southeastern coast of the U.S.—then your primary concern simply becomes survival, or at the very least, finding the strength to make it through weeks and possibly months of disruption of your ordinary and usual routine.
Natural disasters have wide-ranging effects on individuals and their communities. Loss of specific resources (e.g., household contents, job) following a disaster haven’t been rigorously studied, even though a great deal of attention is given to front-loaded activities like preparedness efforts and then, post-disaster interventions like utility restoration, clean-up, and rebuilding.
One study undertaken after Hurricane Ike utilized random-digital-dial methodology to recruit hurricane-affected adults from Galveston and Chambers, TX, counties one year after Ike devastated the region. Data from 1,249 survivors were analyzed to identify predictors of distress, including specific resource losses. Symptoms characteristic with PTSD were noted, associated with sustained losses, hurricane exposure and socio-demographic characteristics. Depressive symptoms were also evidenced by researchers. Together, these findings suggest risk factors that may be associated with the development of post-hurricane distress should be factored-in with preparedness efforts and post-hurricane interventions.
Those watching Florence unfold can observe tragedy from a perch of safety in their living rooms, a “perk” that television and technology affords. It’s all-too-easy for the misery of other people to become a form of entertainment for the people not in the bulls-eye of disaster. Like the rubbernecking that occurs as motorists pass a wreck on the highway, it takes effort to look away.
Storm surge near Atlantic Beach, N.C. (AP photo)
Compelling stories will develop. News organizations will remain at ground-zero for days and perhaps a week afterwards. Then, they’ll pack up and prepare for the next disaster and tragedy. We’ll all see the affected, those who’ve had their lives uprooted and material possessions destroyed. There will be residents who will lose that which cannot be replaced: when loved ones and friends become victims of nature’s force.
Sometimes this prompts us to wonder, “how would I hold up in a similar circumstance?” But the truth is, you never know what your capacity for self-reliance is until you are forced to draw on that reserve after tragedy strikes.
Empathy is actually a learned behavior, although its capacity is inborn and likely, genetic. It’s highly unlikely that our current president will ever be mistaken for an empath.
This is a good time, if watching from afar, to cultivate empathy in your life. There are organizations that are always on the front lines during a disaster. If you can, donate what you can afford. You’ll be glad when it’s your time to receive similar support.