I’ve conducted an informal poll of random friends
and acquaintances and just about everyone has the impression that forecasts of
rain have often become breathless announcements from media meteorologists of “severe
storms” on their way.
The Rangers game a few nights ago was interrupted
multiple times from the television weatherman warning of possible approaching
disaster. When the game was over and the local channel had succeeded in keeping
me tuned in, the guy smiled into the camera and calmed us all down by saying
the “threat” was over.
Here’s some truth: there never was a “threat.” The
line of rain he claimed that was about to descend on us was actually passing
west to east through Oklahoma.
The cause of hyperbole among the
weather pros may be a number of things. First, now that we all have our very
own personal weather radar and access to the weather resources of the entire
federal government on our phones, maybe weathermen and women are afraid we
don’t need them anymore.
Even if we are not checking, our
Facebook friends and those we follow on Twitter will tell us about the weather.
Or, maybe the geographic region we
live in is so huge that somewhere within it the dire forecast may actually be
accurate. Among the six or seven million people in the area there could be some
in harm’s way. But, who?
Or, maybe the weather experts are
right that disaster is on the way and they want us to pay attention to them for
our own good. However, I am compelled to mention the obvious – if they always
warn of calamity and it hardly ever comes, isn’t it human nature to tune them
out after a while? Perhaps this is a version of crying “Wolf!!” too often.
The impact these experiences have on
some is not to be taken lightly. Professional therapists even have a name for
the abnormal fear of weather. They call it Astraphobia. The condition is
heightened when children and household pets react to rain, thunder, and
lightning.
They explain that many people who have an
irrational fear of severe weather tend to find themselves afraid or even
unwilling to leave their homes if they know that the weather forecast predicts
bad or severe weather. While being somewhat afraid of severe weather is considered
to be a normality, it is considered a phobia when you are too afraid to even
leave your house to go to work when you know that a storm could be on its way
tomorrow or even a week from tomorrow.
All kinds of treatment and therapy
may be suggested and tried. But, my own experience has led me to believe that
power to overcome fear is often found through knowledge and engagement in
activities that ease the mind by confronting the matter head on.
I haven’t found where the “treatment”
I suggest is part of the usual therapy, but it’s worth considering so, here it
is.
It turns out that we are not helpless
when weather is on the way. In fact, there are all kinds of things we can do
for ourselves even when we know we are in the path of not only some rainstorms
but also major natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and
earthquakes.
Following the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina, major new initiatives were launched by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to help individuals, neighborhoods, and entire communities
prepare for disaster.
Their web site, ready.gov, offers an
extremely comprehensive guide to citizen empowerment through preparation and
planning in the event we are faced with the kind of calamity that may be the
source of great fear.
The agency devotes their attention to
common sense steps to take – things we should all know to do – and then
develops specific initiatives to inform and train anyone who is interested in
being prepared.
The best kind of involvement is the
kind where you join with your neighbors and multiply your power to deal with
emergencies. The centerpiece of this opportunity is explained by FEMA in the
description of the Citizen Corps enterprise.
Their objective is straightforward:
“The mission of Citizen Corps is to harness the power of every individual
through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer,
stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime,
public health issues, and disasters of all kinds.”
The good news is, our community is on
board and has taken advantage of this program. The Arlington Citizen Corps
Council was organized by the Arlington Fire Department’s Office of Emergency
Management two years ago.
Included in the public education and
training activities are things such as understanding local alerts/warnings,
protective measures for no-notice hazards, developing a family emergency plan,
having emergency supplies in multiple locations, first aid, local information
on evacuating, sheltering, practice response (drills), prevention measures, and
much, much more.
Targeted populations include the
general public, the elderly, youth, pet owners, diverse language and cultures,
economic factors, people with disabilities, and people with transportation
dependencies.
During the years of my service with
EPA, I have seen all of this at work, especially among residents along the
coasts of the Gulf of Mexico. The result is fear and helplessness replaced by a
sense of security and confidence.
Think about getting involved and
giving it a try. Who knows – the next time you see those angry bands of yellow,
orange and red on the radar headed your way, you may say – so be it, I’m ready.
Richard Greene is a former
Arlington mayor, served as an appointee of Pres. George W. Bush as Regional
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and currently is an
adjunct professor in UT Arlington’s Graduate School of Urban and Public
Affairs.
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