Keep Employees, Coworkers in Mind Long After Natural Disasters

Most anyone in the Louisville or southern Indiana area on April 3, 1974 will never forget that day. Called a Super Outbreak, it has been recorded as the most violent tornado outbreak ever, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From April 3-4, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 states -- Indiana and Kentucky included -- and in Ontario, Canada. I was at high school track practice on April 3. Ominous clouds spurred our coach to move practice into the gym, where we were instructed to run laps. Another runner popped into the gym and reported that a funnel cloud had touched down nearby. Practice was called off, and reports of deaths and extensive property damage soon began to unfold. The American Red Cross was using short-wave radio for communications, and phone lines were down. Chain saws were the prevalent sound. If they could find passable roads, those who chose to drive around and survey the damage looked on in disbelief.

A few weeks after the tornadoes had touched down, I complimented a classmate on her shirt, asking where she'd bought it.

"I didn't," she said. "The day of the storm, we watched as a funnel cloud started out in our direction from across the river." ("The river" meant the Ohio River.) "When it got to the river, it touched down and divided the water. We could literally see the bottom, all the way to the sand. It was like The Old Testament. The river parted like it was the Red Sea. Then, when the funnel had crossed to side and was on land again, it turned and stopped coming toward us. The winds were so high. I guess it stirred up a lot. We and we had all kinds of stuff in our yard. That's how I got this shirt."

Her expression said it all. Even though her home had not been hit and although rebuilding and repairs were well underway, she was clearly reliving something horrible. The high school gym across the river had to be made into a temporary morgue, and maybe she was picturing that. Livestock went missing, and her family represented cattle farmers, so it might have been that. Or maybe it was sheer terror that comes from hearing all that wind. My classmate shared how the barometric pressure dropped so far, so quickly that day, "the hair on my forearms stood up."

Years later, a college professor of mine would lecture on the April 3-4, 1974 events. Those tornadoes did everything opposite of what tornadoes ordinarily do. The funnel that struck Louisville came from a direction different than what is ordinarily recorded, traveling from the southwest to the northeast. In his lecture, he said that funnel clouds ordinarily "dance" outside of big-city limits and don't barrel into high-density areas. This one did. Also at that time, a tornado safety tip for motorists was to get out of the car and lie down in a ditch or low-level area -- tornadoes often did not dip into lower areas. This one did. My professor was among experts who continued to study these tornadoes for the years that followed, striving to understand the anomalies and help keep people safer from future storms.

Back to the Dec. 11-12 storms that has devastated much of western Kentucky: As Kentucky and other states search, retrieve, respond, and plan "what's next," and as the Midwest is asked to brace for something similar later today in Iowa and surrounding states, of course we are focused on the here-and-now. So many remain without water, electricity, internet connection, confirmation that family and acquaintances are ok, and access to passable roads. Although restoration, reunifications and rebuilding can't possibly get here soon enough, it will arrive. And we'll mark the one year, five-year, and other milestone anniversaries of these storms, just as we have post-April 3, 1974. And we'll err on the side of thinking people are OK when they might not be.

I haven't seen my classmate, the one who came by the cool shirt by way of the tornado, in many years. There's one thing I'm certain of, though. If I were to ask if she's fully gotten over that event, I'm sure she'd say no.

I am trying to be more aware of this if I know coworkers or employees have been impacted by this type of event. A colleague provided this resource, which I've found helpful, and which may be helpful to you as well as your interact with, and support, coworkers and staff members. Credit goes to a colleague, Miriam Sillman, and her source is The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress.

And, for those with a heart for contributing to a fund that has been set up to help storm victims in western Kentucky, please consider visiting the Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund.