THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170524
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC SUNDQUIST, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
If Hurricane Felix has you waiting anxiously, consider Carie Chartier.
Nine months pregnant, the 21-year-old left her Virginia Beach duplex yesterday for the shelter of Cox High School. Her husband, a torpedoman on the USS Washington, was riding out the storm at sea, while Chartier was tending her 18-month-old daughter and her two sisters, 10 and 16.
And she was having contractions every 30 minutes.
Somehow, though, she was the picture of serenity. About 4:45 Wednesday afternoon, she sat cross-legged on a pallet of blankets, calmly rearranging boxes of snack food and watching her daughter.
``I'm too tired to be nervous,'' she said.
Clearly, she'd tapped a vein of determination that keeps people functioning when they have no other choice. In Chartier's case, that meant bringing her family to safety.
``I wanted to go somewhere where there'd be someone to take care of my sisters and my daughter if something happened to me,'' she said.
According to those who study disasters, Chartier was doing just the right thing. By taking action, she was channeling her anxiety - ``anticipation anxiety,'' to be precise - in a constructive way.
``Anxiety is not a bad thing if it motivates goal-directed behavior,'' said John Freedy, a psychologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. ``It's when you get incapacitated that it's a problem.''
Taking action helps ensure survival and protection of property. But it has less-obvious benefits as well.
``It can help you to feel better, too,'' Freedy said. ``It gives you a sense of control.''
Some other things to consider as the hurricane approaches, the experts say:
Altruism. Helping others provides the same psychological benefit as taking action on your own behalf - the sense of control Freedy spoke of. It also contributes to:
Social interaction. Talking and working with friends or family members can be reassuring in difficult times. Togetherness also breeds:
Social cohesion. It's comforting to know that, despite property damage, our community won't break up.
``People tend to pull together, rather than pull apart in a situation like this,'' Freedy says. ``You might think it would be mass chaos, but with Hurricane Andrew, they pulled together.''
And if community resources falter, there will be:
Help from outside. The nation has long rallied to help disaster victims, and if it gets bad in Hampton Roads, there's no reason to think that pattern will stop. Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew, coming recently, helped government agencies and the Red Cross improve their systems for aid.
``They almost parachute in with an infrastructure,'' Freedy said.
Those earlier hurricanes and other recent disasters also show that:
You'll probably be all right. With extensive warnings, good building codes and a prepared officialdom, the chances that any particular person will lose his life or be seriously injured are very small.
Still anxious? Consider prayer. In a group, if possible. Others who've endured natural disasters say it really helps.
There was a sign yesterday that people in Hampton Roads would also come together spiritually.
A revival has been in full swing all week at the First Baptist Church of West Munden, in Chesapeake, and the approach of Hurricane Felix won't stop it, the Rev. John Ashby said. ``We consider our church as almost a shelter, it's very solidly built,'' said Ashby of his 700-member church.
The revival has drawn a few hundred every night since Sunday, and those who come pray about the community's safety.
``We will pray that the Tidewater community as well as other communities will be blessed and that the Lord's will be done,'' Ashby said. ``If you say, `Bypass us and go somewhere else,' that's not a Christian prayer. No one prays that tragedy hits other people. . . . If you pray that God's will be done, I don't see a need to say anything else.''
Not everyone finds faith a comfort in crisis, however. Some find more anxiety: They are tempted to ask why God tests them in such a way, said Rev. Tommy Teague, at the 6,000-member First Baptist Church of Norfolk on Kempsville Road.
``God does his will in ways that can't be explained,'' Teague said. ``You can't deal with the why. . . . Through all these things - accidents, death, inclement weather - we ask how is God going to be glorified. How are people going to be deepened in their faith?''
Teague said people demonstrate their faith in God by their response to people who need help in times of crisis. Teague said church members are already networking with local groups to see what the church community can do to provide disaster relief, if that becomes necessary.
All of this may do little to allay the fears of children, who have fewer life experiences than adults, and who consequently have trouble putting danger in perspective.
Freedy, who treated many children after Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston in 1989, said that preparing kids for the storm is one of the most important tasks facing parents.
``While it's very stressful, (the hurricane) provides an opportunity to have the family pull together and do something constructive,'' he said. ``It can be a lesson in life for kids.''
Explain to your kids - in language they can understand - what is going to happen, Freedy said. For example, if the family will be moving to a shelter, what preparations are necessary? How long they will be out of the house?
Also, if possible, involve children, even young children, in the preparations.
Candy Johnson of Portsmouth is taking that approach with her 9-year-old daughter, J'Ettera.
``We've tried to handle it by keeping her informed. We watch the weather reports and have shown her how they're tracking it and where they're expecting it to land. We've talked about the devastation that can happen and what we're going to do.
``I think she feels more comforted knowing exactly what we plan to do.''
J'Ettera has packed her own emergency kit - three changes of clothes and her personal toiletries. Tuesday night she slept with a mini-flashlight strapped around her wrist.
J'Ettera also helped her mother shop for supplies, something else Freedy recommends.
``Even a 3- or 4-year-old can pick a favorite toy to bring to a shelter, or carry a small bag out to the car,'' he said.
Cynthia L. Earley of Chesapeake is involving her five children, ages 1 to 12, in hurricane preparations. Wednesday, they made a list of emergency supplies and went shopping. Wednesday night, Earley said, they were all going to sleep together in sleeping bags in the family room. ``So we have something to look forward to, and also it's a security issue that we all be together.''
She's kept her television tuned to The Weather Channel and posted a hurricane tracking chart. ``So hopefully, we can learn something about the awesome force of Mother Nature.''
She's doing the right thing, psychologist Marilyn Segal of the Family Center at Nova University in Fort Lauderdale says. Segal, who worked with families in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, said the most important thing during the storm is keeping the family together.
``Don't put your children anywhere alone,'' she cautioned. ``To be alone is the scariest thing for a child.''
She suggested families use the time together to tell stories and sing songs. She recommended they put together a kit of toys and simple games, ``special hurricane toys,'' to entertain kids.
Keeping things as normal as possible is best. ``Even in a shelter, kids can have a bedtime, mealtime, play times,'' he said.
``The more you can create that normalcy, that's going to be real helpful to children and adults.'' MEMO: Staff writers Debra Gordon, Aleta Payne and Esther Diskin contributed to
this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Michael Robert, 13, Carie Chartier and Kim Cook, 10, from left,
prepare to wait out the hurricane at Cox High School in Virginia
Beach.
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
George Elsasser of Virginia Beach, left, and Robert Baker of Norfolk
help secure the Sandbridge home of Elsasser's parents on Wednesday.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX
by CNB