Is a Disaster-Related Windfall Really News?

I just finished reading an article --Tornado a windfall for Merchants--in our local newspaper that left me feeling, well, uneasy. The article is just a straight-forward report on the increase in sales that local businesses are experiencing due to the recent tornado that destroyed the nearby town of Greensburg, Kansas. Yes, it is to be expected that towns near the disaster area will experience increases in revenue streams as relief agencies, contractors, and government entities set-up shop and start the process of rebuilding. And, no, there are no reports of any price gouging or profiteering--something that everyone involved should be proud of. Still, the article left me feeling uneasy.

First off, I think my main problem is that the tornado that wiped-out Greensburg could have meandered a little to the East and easily taken out our town. Just a little jink to the right and Pratt would have been so much kindling. For me the destruction is just a little too close.

I think another problem I may have is that no one seems to be thinking too deeply about the future impact this disaster is going to have on the town. A recent article in our local newspaper suggests that upwards to 20% of the 1100 Greensburg households affected by the tornado may elect to relocate to Pratt. What short- and long-term effects will this relocation have on the new Pratt High School, a school that was designed with a shrinking enrollment in mind? What long-term effect will this relocation  have on the housing market? Is anyone looking at the future past next week or next month?

Yes, the tornado has resulted in a windfall for this city and its merchants, but that is today. What affect will it have tomorrow?

Technorati tags: Pratt, Greensburg, Kansas, tornado, disaster

Postcards

While driving back to Pratt from Cimarron along US50--and viewing the damage caused by last Friday's tornado--the wife and I started to talk about the best way to alert folks to bad weather. You see, a lot of people here live on widely spaced farms and many do not have TVs, computers, or land line telephones. So, how do you get the word out to the maximum number of people? What we came up with is that you can use electronic postcards.

A surprising number of people have cell phones, even people who don't use a lot of technology. But calling all the cell phone numbers in the affected area won't work very well since some users will be on travel while a number of visitors to the area will be missed. What would be nice is if you could send a message to every cellular device that connected to a given tower regardless of carrier or phone number--similar, in effect, to a UDP message sent to all devices attached to a given network.

We have absolutely no idea whether the current technology or protocols allow for a tower-wide distribution of messages. If it does then the system could map out which towers cover the area affected by the storm or disaster and then send out a general alert to all devices, probably in the form of both voice and text messages.

You will still miss some people, but the number of people who get the message should be a considerable increase over current methods.

Technorati tags: tornado, disaster, notification

Aftermath Elsewhere

Greensburg, Kansas was not the only place hit by the tornadoes that night. Another area was Macksville, Kansas, about 40 miles to the northeast of Greensburg. Though the tornado passed to the east of the town, there are reports that at least two homes were destroyed. Here are some pictures from US Highway 50, just east of Macksville, where the tornado crossed the road shortly after destroying Greensburg and just missing downtown Macksville:

South side of US50, just east of Macksville, where the tornado crossed the road shortly after destroying Greensburg, KS and just missed Macksville, KS on the Night of May 4th, 2007

North side of US50, a little further east. These trees were snapped like toothpicks.

Looking ESE along US50. Not the object circled in red. It is a piece of what looks like a storage silo. There are pieces of corrugated steel--silo pieces?--embedded in the north-side fence for about the next half-mile.

Technorati tags: Greensburg, Macksville, Kansas, tornado

Prayers

For the last 36 hours we have been watching storm after storm and tornado after tornado pass to the northwest of our little county. We watched, from not too afar, as Greensburg, St. John, Macksville and others were hit by incredibly violent weather, all the time knowing that a small change in pattern could bring devastation to our little town.

We have been to Greensburg and talked with its citizens. We have walked its streets, visited its shops, and enjoyed a street fair they had not too long ago.

Our prayers for those affected are that much more intense as we think back to the time we spent their come to the realization of how easily it could have been us.

Technorati tags: Greensburg, tornado, weather, kansas

Tornado

We are still reeling here from the disaster that occurred last night in Greensburg, Kansas (which is only 30 miles east of us here in Pratt.) Aerial views of the town show devestation as far as the eye can see and, according to published reports, the Greensburg city adminsitrator says that "Greensburg has suffered 100 percent damage." Our hearts and prayers go out to the residents of the city and those in other towns that were affected by last night's storms.

Technorati tags: tornado, weather, greensburg, kansas, disaster