In the United States, there is a popular area where tornadoes occur frequently, especially in early summer. This area is called tornado alley, and it is generally considered to be Oklahoma, Kansas, the Texas Panhandle, Nebraska, Eastern South Dakota, and Eastern Colorado. The wind speeds of a tornado can reach more than 300 mph, which are faster wind speeds than most hurricanes. In the heart of it all, Kansas will experience on average more than 92 tornados a month. This causes many difficulties and hardships for people involved in the tornado. Although these disasters cause many problems, most victims can agree that they are content with being able to rebuild their homes and hometown into a bigger and stronger community. With the shared traumatizing …show more content…
After a tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas in May of 2007, the community united to rebuild its identity.
Greensburg, Kansas had experienced a major tragedy. The town had been demolished by a very dangerous, and very deadly tornado. In the article “Monster tornado ‘flat-out leveled the town,’” Emily Bazar wrote that in May of 2007, a tornado hit Greensburg, Kansas. It destroyed most buildings and killed at least 8 people. FEMA is trying to help those affected by the tragedy, but most of the state’s equipment is in Iraq. Residents are frustrated because they want to return home, but it is still too unsafe. Officials want people to know they plan to rebuild, but not all residents are all that eager to take the chance. When she described the damage in the town, Bazar said, “Like fellow resident Ringwald Witting says she never expected a tornado to hit her home, even though she lives in a twister hotspot,” (Bazar 2). Nobody ever expects any terrible to happen to themselves. They believe it will only happen to other people, however …show more content…
All Things Considered reported in its broadcast “Kansas Town’s Green Dreams Could Save Its Future” that it had been about seven months since the tornado that had destroyed Greensburg, and the town had come a long way in rebuilding. What’s more, they were using green technologies in their rebuilding. These methods cost more up front, but they would save money over the long run. This was bringing a lot of energy back to a town that was slowly dying before the tornado. Reporter Frank Morris visited a local wind farm and talked to Lynn Billman, a senior analyst with the Department of Energy. She stated, “’One of these turbines, in fact one half the size of these guys, would be more than enough to power Greensburg most days.’” (“Kansas” 2). Getting power from wind turbines is very economical, good for the environment and cheap for the residents of Greensburg. It is ironic that the problem of strong winds that caused the problems are now the very thing that the town’s power supply relies most on. The towns advancements in green technology has helped save many people money, homes, and their happiness is regained once again. Another example of Greensburg’s growth came following the disaster. Mike Estes, owner of a John Deere company located in Greensburg, decided to help rebuild the town better