Disasters in the Movies – Wizard of Oz
One of the most classical American films in history was a simple movie made in 1939, known as the Wizard of Oz. This musical fantasy film was such a huge hit considering the fancy Technicolor and fun characters incorporated into the movie. Many readers found it exciting to see one of their favorite books come to life on screen and even better, in color. One of the most exciting aspects of this particular movie was the outrageous tornado in the beginning. When watching it in the very beginning that is the last thing the typical watcher would ever think could happen. It’s a plot twist, and a very exciting one at that.
Tornados are a very intense windstorm. NSSL more accurately describes a tornado as, “-a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, it is hard to see a tornado unless it forms a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust and debris. Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.”
NOAA states that tornados occur in the U.S. about 1,200 per year. That’s about three to four tornadoes per day. How crazy is that?! After researching more on NOAA’s site I learned some really interesting facts. One centering about warning advance. Researchers say that the average leading time for forecasters warning is thirteen minutes. Reading that blew my mind. How in the world can someone save them self, their home, and their family all in as little as thirteen minutes? That made me just that much more aware of the type of destructive damage tornadoes create and how little time people have to react to it. I learned that the most common areas for tornadoes to occur is South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado. Outside of the U.S. tornados occur in other countries such as Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.
Jerry Coffey from his article, “How Do Tornados Form” stated the main components in how a tornado is created. Tornados are usually a result of supercell thunderstorm. He states, “During the storm cold air and warm air combine in a set pattern: the cold air drops as the warm air rises. The warm air eventually twists into a spiral and forms the funnel cloud that we all associate with a tornado.” Tornados die when there is no longer warm air (RFD) to supply to the twister, allowing it to die off.
Tying all of this information back to The Wizard of Oz, this American film has created a huge icon for tornadoes. Initially, the first thing I think of when I imagine tornadoes, is the Wizard of Oz. In the movie, the tornado is used to transition Dorothy’s ordinary life style on a farm to transform her into a completely other world full of witches, munchkins, and talking animals.
The movie creates a very insightful meaning when the tornado occurs. The producers of this movie used imagery and allegory in which to conform to the meaning of the movie. In the beginning of the film, the movie was purely black and white. When the tornado takes place, Dorothy’s house begins to spin up and up and up until she is in the air. Before she knows it, she finds her and her house landing into an entirely new world, full of vibrant colors. In film history, the 1930’s was the decade where Technicolor was created. Having color was a new feature in films during that time. What made this movie so amazing and special was the fact that the movie had both black and white, and Technicolor. In Dorothy’s new world she was experiencing, everywhere around her was full of rich, energetic colors. When Dorothy’s house landed in the new world, it happened to land on The Wicked Witch of the East, immediately killing her. Although she was a bad person in this particular movie, I believe this death was very symbolic of what tornadoes can do. Tornadoes are very destructive in which they can range anywhere from an F0 tornado with as low as 40 mph, up to an F5 tornado which can spin anywhere up to 318 mph.
What I learned from watching this movie again, and researching tornadoes is that if you choose to live in an area with a risk of tornadoes, to be extremely prepared because it is next to impossible to find a safe spot in under thirteen minutes when you are unprepared. A very common and smart thing to do to prepare in case of this natural disaster is to build an underground safe, regularly stocked with food and water. If those who are in a danger zone can be thoroughly prepared, the death effect of a tornado will not be so extreme. That is what those who are in danger should focus on.
One of the most classical American films in history was a simple movie made in 1939, known as the Wizard of Oz. This musical fantasy film was such a huge hit considering the fancy Technicolor and fun characters incorporated into the movie. Many readers found it exciting to see one of their favorite books come to life on screen and even better, in color. One of the most exciting aspects of this particular movie was the outrageous tornado in the beginning. When watching it in the very beginning that is the last thing the typical watcher would ever think could happen. It’s a plot twist, and a very exciting one at that.
Tornados are a very intense windstorm. NSSL more accurately describes a tornado as, “-a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, it is hard to see a tornado unless it forms a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust and debris. Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.”
NOAA states that tornados occur in the U.S. about 1,200 per year. That’s about three to four tornadoes per day. How crazy is that?! After researching more on NOAA’s site I learned some really interesting facts. One centering about warning advance. Researchers say that the average leading time for forecasters warning is thirteen minutes. Reading that blew my mind. How in the world can someone save them self, their home, and their family all in as little as thirteen minutes? That made me just that much more aware of the type of destructive damage tornadoes create and how little time people have to react to it. I learned that the most common areas for tornadoes to occur is South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado. Outside of the U.S. tornados occur in other countries such as Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.
Jerry Coffey from his article, “How Do Tornados Form” stated the main components in how a tornado is created. Tornados are usually a result of supercell thunderstorm. He states, “During the storm cold air and warm air combine in a set pattern: the cold air drops as the warm air rises. The warm air eventually twists into a spiral and forms the funnel cloud that we all associate with a tornado.” Tornados die when there is no longer warm air (RFD) to supply to the twister, allowing it to die off.
Tying all of this information back to The Wizard of Oz, this American film has created a huge icon for tornadoes. Initially, the first thing I think of when I imagine tornadoes, is the Wizard of Oz. In the movie, the tornado is used to transition Dorothy’s ordinary life style on a farm to transform her into a completely other world full of witches, munchkins, and talking animals.
The movie creates a very insightful meaning when the tornado occurs. The producers of this movie used imagery and allegory in which to conform to the meaning of the movie. In the beginning of the film, the movie was purely black and white. When the tornado takes place, Dorothy’s house begins to spin up and up and up until she is in the air. Before she knows it, she finds her and her house landing into an entirely new world, full of vibrant colors. In film history, the 1930’s was the decade where Technicolor was created. Having color was a new feature in films during that time. What made this movie so amazing and special was the fact that the movie had both black and white, and Technicolor. In Dorothy’s new world she was experiencing, everywhere around her was full of rich, energetic colors. When Dorothy’s house landed in the new world, it happened to land on The Wicked Witch of the East, immediately killing her. Although she was a bad person in this particular movie, I believe this death was very symbolic of what tornadoes can do. Tornadoes are very destructive in which they can range anywhere from an F0 tornado with as low as 40 mph, up to an F5 tornado which can spin anywhere up to 318 mph.
What I learned from watching this movie again, and researching tornadoes is that if you choose to live in an area with a risk of tornadoes, to be extremely prepared because it is next to impossible to find a safe spot in under thirteen minutes when you are unprepared. A very common and smart thing to do to prepare in case of this natural disaster is to build an underground safe, regularly stocked with food and water. If those who are in a danger zone can be thoroughly prepared, the death effect of a tornado will not be so extreme. That is what those who are in danger should focus on.
Hurricane Katrina
Resiliency – Nursing Major
I was currently finishing up my nursing school at New Orleans University in 2005. On August 29, 2005, I was sitting at home curled up on my couch with some of my fellow students, watching T.V. to pass the time by. This day happened to be the day Hurricane Katrina hit. A few days before, we were warned to evacuate as they were predicting a hurricane to hit our land. In major fear of course, everyone wanted to leave. Every sort of transportation was booked. Buses, planes, and worst of all the highways were clogged so badly I believed I would have a better chance simply staying in my small boarded up home. The morning of August 29, an immense amount of rainfall flooded the area. I remember seeing vigorous winds hit, rain and water flooding the area, watching trees snap in half, breaking homes and buildings. During the hurricane I believed there was no way it could possibly get worse, but it definitely did. The aftermath of the disaster was much worse than the disaster itself. The Dome only took 15,000 people before closing its doors. I had luckily got in safe. There was no established medical staff, therefore me and a few other medical students, nurses, and doctors that happened to find safety inside the Superdome got together and created a system. I had a few main jobs on my plate. Those jobs consisted of cleaning wounds, regularly checking blood pressure, temp, oxygen, etc. as well as making sure patients were being fed. The most unfortunate about the aftermath of the hurricane was that the officials had not packed and stored enough food and supplies. We were quickly running out of all of our food and supplies which was very damaging as we were trying to keep all of the victims healthy and alive as well as trying to evacuate all of them. The Dome itself was not completely safe proof which worried me for my safety as well as the life of others. The morning of August 29, reports were conveyed that “part of the roof was ‘peeling off,’ daylight could be seen from inside the dome, and rain was pouring in.” We were forced to put small buckets to stop from flooding the entire area. My day to day jobs continued. I tried to keep the beds and area clean as well as attempting to maintain the injurie’s health, but I was slowly starting to lose hope by the hour. The next day on August 30, the dome slowly started to flood. I was scared mainly due to the fact we had beds and supplies all around the field level. We were forced to move up to higher levels. Finally, on August 31, it was announced that the Superdome evacuees would move to the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. “With no power and no water, sanitary conditions within the Superdome had rapidly deteriorated.” The overall impact of the hurricane greatly terrified me, changed me, and helped me grow strangely enough. I learned how to truly take care of my patients especially in such a desperate time of need. I had witnessed two deaths, and heard of another. Two of the elderly passed as well as the third I heard was to have committed suicide by jumping off the higher levels. This experience sincerely taught me how to react quickly to situations, push my empathy towards my patients, and to better my skills. I would have never learned any of this through my clinicals. I was unfortunate yet lucky enough to be a part of this experience. |
This class has taught me a lot about natural disasters, especially about resiliency. My major has a pretty big impact on the direct resiliency required after a natural disaster. During a natural disaster whichever it may be, there is always those who are injured. My major being nursing directly correlates to helping those who are injured after the natural disaster has occurred. This project particularly made me think about if I was personally involved in a natural disaster and how I would use my nursing major to help others around me. In my project I wrote a blog post pretending I was a current nursing student finishing up my degree at the time of Hurricane Katrina. I thought a lot about resiliency and after doing some research on Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome, I was able to incorporate caring for patients in the Superdome to correlate my major into a natural disaster.
This class also helped me see the impacts we make on nature itself and what I can personally do to protect myself in case of emergency for a natural disaster as well as what I can do to help in the aftermath such as the mitigation, recovery, response, and preparedness.