Reasons Not to Visit Greensburg Right Now

[Mike Peregrine]

If you're looking for something to do while the skies stay blue, there are some good reasons to stay clear of Greensburg right now. Relief efforts are being coordinated and they are wanting things to stay really organized at this point:

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/100990.html

 

[Jody Radzik]

I was in Greensberg right before the tornado struck, and after spending the night in Dodge City, I considered driving back there to check it out, until I decided it would be a crass act.

If my house was blown to bits by a tornado and I was dealing with the loss of practically everything in my life, including maybe some friends and loved ones, the last thing I'd want to see was gawking storm chasers with cameras capitalizing on the tragedy. I'm not saying this is what storm chasers do, but if there are any who might, it would only make the whole community look bad.

First response is one thing that is very admirable. Checking out how messed up folks lives have become as the result of a tornado is another, one that is not admirable at all, in my opinion.

 

[Chad Love]

It may have changed by now, but from Friday night through Tuesday if you weren't part of the rescue/relief effort or a resident or a journalist with valid credentials, you weren't getting in anyway. There were state troopers at both ends of 54 and every county road leading in and they were being very picky about who got in, although when I left Tuesday mid-morning there was talk of opening 54, and I'm sure it's probably open by now, but I doubt you're able to do anything but drive straight through town without stopping.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Yes, I've experienced similar issues with both Jarrell F5 '97 and Moore F5 '03. I toured both damage paths. Jarrell was 2 or 3 days later, and I think Moore was a couple weeks or so. I admit, it is fascinating to see what a truly destructive tornado can do. It is very educational. Regardless I still felt out of place. I realized this was a very sad situation for these people that don't necessarily want visitors. Now with Jarrell I brought by some stuff to donate to the relief effort. I don't know if I did the same with Moore, but generally it is not a place for the public unless you are planning on helping out or donating stuff.

Of course there is also the temptation after a chase to tour and videotape the destruction caused by the tornado you witnessed earlier that day or the day before. Almost any television documentary would want to see the tornado and the effect later on the people and community. I've been there when other people were doing this, but I still felt bad about it. Sure, some may want their story told, but somehow it still just doesn't feel like the right thing to do.

What do the rest of you think, and what were your experiences? Am I being overly sensitive about this type of thing or do these people deserve a little space and respect? Or, is it totally based on what you do while there and how you do it - how you communicate? Is space respectful, or do these people really need lots of people there in their time of need - both assisting them, and documenting the tragedy?

 

[Mike Smith]

What do the rest of you think, and what were your experiences? Am I being overly sensitive about this type of thing or do these people deserve a little space and respect?

Based on my experiences with F5 tornadoes, I would not go anywhere near Greensburg for the next three weeks or so (say, until the Memorial Day Weekend). Then, if you are in the area, I would make it a point to go to Haviland (in Kiowa Co.) purchase gas, food, etc., then Greensburg as businesses start to return.

Kiowa Co. will need the sales tax revenue and businesses will need revenue to sustain themselves.

You might remember Rudy Guilliani on "Saturday Night Live" three weeks after September 11, "All of the charity is great, but what we really need is for people to stay in a hotel, go out to dinner and see a show." Right now, there is no Greensburg where that can occur, but when those businesses return the best thing we can do to support them when we are in the area.

Mike

 

[Chris C Sanner]

It really depends on the situation. Being a journalist at heart I feel stories like Greensburg need to be documented properly. There are ways to do it that are respectful and classy. I think that not telling the story is a tragedy in itself, so it really depends on what you are planning to do with the film and how you act when at the scene. Best case scenario is a news crew or even a documentary crew that you know is going to share the story with the world. It's really a situation by situation basis, but I'd rather have some videos and stories come out of Greensburg than have nothing and the whole thing be all but forgotten within a decade.

 

[fplowman]

Reading the report that was linked i thought to myself...

All the blunders made with the Red Cross and mis appropriation of funds.

Helping out in a disaster is now corporately co opted it seems. Dont bring any food or water or clothes dont come here.. Just send money to this sometimes scandolous organization and they will make sure everything here is handled properly.

Somewhat disheartening. Opinions? Im sure Ill get them..

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Here's my thinking on this, and everyone is going to have an opinion, naturally. Initially there is a stage after these storms that everything is just in complete chaos. People are salvaging what they can find from their homes, debris is being cleared from the streets, etc. And what most people seem to want more than anything is just to have family members and close friends nearby so they can work through the volume of rubble together. The first day or two after an event, having the news crews there is sort of a novelty and it allows for a diversion from the pressure. But after that people just want to get down to business and constantly having a reporter shove a microphone in their face is not their idea of getting on with life, so it becomes a real burden. I also believe these events should be well documented by a few well-prepared outlets who are knowledgeable about disaster coverage. But to have every joe and his camera coming to see the mess is just overkill.

The primary motivation for the article in the Star is to keep the sight-seers down. Plus, think of the literally HUNDREDS of organizations, from churches to relief organizations to entire cities, etc. who all have TRUCKLOADS of stuff ready to go to Greensburg. That's a commendable spirit, but at the same time - are these 1400 people REALLY ready to start accepting truckloads of stuff? Where are they going to put it? There needs to be a reasonable order of events for things to happen, and it should stay organized. Money would be the preferrable route to take if a person can trust that it is actually going to be used for the purpose it is earmarked. So, so many times in this world people get taken advantage of that way and the real victims never see it, which is disheartening indeed. But I do strongly feel like there's no reason to send a bunch of clothes, food, Playstations, etc. down to a town with no houses and nowhere to put it all - - especially since it is pouring in from across the country. It just needs to be organized, and the local and government officials are most apt to keep things governed the way they see fit.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I'm sure in a few weeks, there will be a need for volunteer manpower and supplies. Once the debris is cleared, it will be time to start rebuilding and that will be when an influx of volunteers is needed. I agree that right now there is not much that an army of people, trucks and supplies could do.

Hopefully whoever is in command there will get the word out as to what is needed and when. The hard part will be in a few weeks when the freshness of the news and the tragedy is faded from everyone's memory. There won't be the hoardes of people wanting to help then.

 

[Bob Schafer]

When I was (working for the Red Cross) in NOLA in September 2005, I did some videotaping and took some still pictures, but not of the few residents we came across. That just seemed too invasive to me. Yet, I know that there is a need for the human interest element to be presented if the images you are shooting are for public consumption.

Like NOLA, I don't think there will be many people in Greensburg for quite a while, so I wouldn't worry too much about photographing. It's not like those houses and businesses are going to be rebuilt and occupied in the next month. They won't. Here in Los Alamos NM, don't forget we had a big fire in 2000. (Yesterday was the anniversary, as a matter of fact.) It was many months before any real construction activity commenced. Though there may be a few residents checking out the situation on a daily basis, you would mostly find nobody there but for the aforementioned few residents and some other gawkers.

*edit Mike makes a good point about the debris removal. Whereas in NOLA there wasn't any cleanup being done in September 2005, I guess there probably will be plenty of workers cleaning up in Greensburg right away....dunno.