Weather Alert! Weather Alert! The words that interrupt your favorite television show to inform you a storm is coming your way. Next thing you know people are outside boarding up their houses, and schools are being closed until further notice. Gas stations are packed, lines that go on for literally hours. People are making sure they have batteries, flashlights, and enough water. You can never be too ready for what might happen. No one wants to take the risk of having something happen to them or their family.
Having experienced many Hurricanes over 18 years I have seen much destruction and have been around many people who have been affected mentally including my family. My memory goes back to 1992 when I was 6 years old and my family and I got in our car and just driving because we were under a mandatory evacuation. I just remember driving and driving until we found someone who let us stay in a spare room they had. In times of need, people help one another out as much as possible. Many people I know lost everything, and till this day people I know still aren’t financially stable. A very close family I know had to move to Canada to restart their business and their daughters moved in with close friends to finish high school.
In a more recent aspect my senior year was one of the worst that I can remember. It was around the last week in October, when they cancelled school for Monday the 24th. I never expected what was about to come. This was about our 3rd one that year and so far they had been all false alarms. So why take this one serious? Early Monday morning was when it all happened. I remember being awakened by my friends’ parents telling us to move downstairs because the storm was getting bad. The next thing I knew the power had gone, but I did not expect it to be the last of it for 2 weeks. My family and I were sleeping 6 people and 2 dogs in one room with a generator that was powering one air conditioning unit. School was cancelled for 2 weeks, no food or water in sight.
The worst had come. I never expected it to be this way. Many people who had homes in other places left and went there so they could have power, food, and water. Hotels were closed, not even did they have power. People started stealing generators and sniffling gas from cars. People were going insane! It started getting too hot to even function. It was getting to be too long. We had to go back to school. They made the decision to send kids back to school with no power. I went to school for 5 days with no power. I never thought it would get to that.
Blue tarps covered neighbor’s roofs. People were pretending to be construction workers and taking people’s money and running. Price gauging became very popular, people started selling bags of ice for 10 dollars. We were faced with many difficulties that we never thought would happen.
When hurricane Katrina hit many of the wealthy people moved to Ft. Lauderdale where they had other businesses and so their children were able to attend school, and have a life. Unfortunately people who are not as fortunate didn’t have anywhere to go and lost everything. Is it fair that the people who are more fortunate got an advantage to get out and had somewhere to go before the storm; meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people did not have anywhere to go?
Much devastation and destruction that people experienced have such an impact on them that the Red Cross offers on hand counselors, psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists. This volunteer mental health program was given as a 100th anniversary gift of the American Psychological Association for the victims of disasters. During hurricane Andrew people looked at the storm as a real person, and were severely scared that he was going to come back and kill them.[1]
Within the first few weeks of destruction people may experience nightmares, mood swings, difficulty sleeping, and feeling depressed. Long term affects that natural disasters have on people are phobias, alcohol and drug problems, and post traumatic stress disorder. [2] Hurricane season in Florida is June 1st to November 30th. People who have experienced hurricanes and past trauma they experience anxiety and dread the upcoming months. Specialists say that there are many ways to help cope with these problems. If you stay active this will help you in a sense that you feel in control. Being prepared is a way to help with the feelings of anxiety.[3]
From my own personal experience I can say that even if I loose power when there is not a storm I would become very unsettled because after living without power for 2 weeks it brings back memories that I have experienced and just the thought of going through that again is the worst feeling. This is an example of how even after storms; the littlest thing that you had gone through can affect you. Many of you can’t imagine what its like to be without food or water. Resources become scarce and the Red Cross Heart Association held sites where they distributed food and water to those who needed it. I personally never thought my family and I would be in need of theses items ever. To experience something like this, and to know that everyone around you rich, and poor are all experiencing the same thing you are, and everyone is in need of the same thing is not something could ever happen to you.
Unfortunately this is an ongoing thing that will never end. Sometimes you will get lucky and not have a bad hurricane season. You can only hope. Just because there might not be a storm, just the thought of them still has an emotional and psychological effect on them. As a community everyone comes together to help one another in a time of need. I never really thought about how much hurricanes can really affect someone, until my recent exposure to one that has mentally affected me. Hurricane Wilma and Hurricane Andrew were just two of many hurricanes to come that people will have to go through.
[1] Mauro, James. "Hurricane Andrew's Other Legacy." Psychology Today. Nov. 1992. 12 Apr. 2007 http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19921101-000020.html.
[2] "Coping in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:Some Brief Guidance Notes on Stress,Greif and Loss for Front Line Teams." International Medical Corps. 14 Apr. 2007
[3] "Hurricane Preparedness." Hurricane Preparedness: University of Miami. 12 Apr. 2007 <http://www6.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/1,1770,2441-1;38182-3,00.html>;.
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