When it Happens Near You
By Amber
@AmbiePam (85660)
United States
February 11, 2009 2:46am CST
Today had the feeling of a tornado day. When the warnings started to preempt soaps, a person knows it is serious (seriously, some people get really ticked when their soaps are preempted). It kind of reminded me of May 3, 1999. Unless you are from Oklahoma or around there, you probably don't remember that.
Anyway, to the point of my discussion. I didn't know until tonight (I had been ill so had quit watching any TV) that so far the death count is at 15, with dozens more injured. The last I had heard was no deaths. Of course that was a long time ago during the day when I heard that. Reading online just now, it made me sick.
Which prompted me to quit reading about it. I know I'm going to hear more about it for weeks to come, and I want to limit my coverage. When something really bad happens where you live, are you glued to the TV? Or do you avoid the media coverage? Or do you just try to limit the coverage. Some people want to know every detail, and others don't want to think about it. Or they may have some other reason for avoiding it. This was no May 3rd, 1999, but it was bad...
7 people like this
22 responses
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
11 Feb 09
My husband and I are from both point of views. When something happens, he is glued to the tv, watching the same reports over and over and over. I want to see it once and move on. It's not necessarily that I don't want to think about it, it's more that I'd rather hope and pray for the people who's lives the event has touched, and I can't do that with having my attention focused elsewhere.
2 people like this
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
11 Feb 09
My cousin was there in 99 that was scary for her enough so that they moved back her to minnesota after that.
I tend to watch when bad things happen as my hubby is usually at work has no tv and wants to get the info from me. Like when the bridge collapsed here he called wanting to know what everyone was talking about. And wel it was on every channel all day anyways.
2 people like this
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
11 Feb 09
Yeah i was glad my brother had left work early or he might have been there.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Feb 09
I'm really not a great fan of watching the news in general...too fricking depressing like the media delights in reporting so much negativity, so I tend to shun watching too much...believe it or not, despite the many news type discussions I start.
The ONLY time I sat glued to the TV though to watch the news nearly 24 hours... that occurred on 9/11/2001. Since I live only twenty or thirty minutes away (by subway) from the World Trade Center I couldn't help but watch...it was so surreal, like a sci-fi Armageddon type movie...but in this case IT WAS REAL.
The only other time I watched the news almost non-stop was the "miracle on the hudson" as they have called it occurred just recently...when that pilot safely landed that plane in the middle of the Hudson River and all passengers and crew were saved...now THAT'S the kind of news I would prefer to hear about since it gives a person hope and faith
Glad to hear you're all right AmbiePam
The only other time I watched the news almost non-stop was the "miracle on the hudson" as they have called it occurred just recently...when that pilot safely landed that plane in the middle of the Hudson River and all passengers and crew were saved...now THAT'S the kind of news I would prefer to hear about since it gives a person hope and faith
Glad to hear you're all right AmbiePam2 people like this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
11 Feb 09
I am one of those who is glued to the tv....like when the Interstate 35 bridge collapsed up in the cities....then I was totally glued to the tv....for the first several days I might add....it was so devastating that I couldn't stop watching it...on 9/11 I watched alot of that too...because both my SIL's are military I just knew that they would be off someplace soon...and I spent most of the time I watched it crying.
2 people like this
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
11 Feb 09
That was one i had to turn off after awhile it was just too much. You couldnt go anywhere or watch anything without hearing about 911 it was so sad. My kids started worring so we had to just turn off the tv and radio and play some games and keep them from seeing anymore.
2 people like this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
11 Feb 09
It depends. Sometimes, I am glued, like on Sept. 11, 2001, other times I do not want to watch as it just makes me sad since I can do nothing about it but pray. I am sorry to hear of that. I am also sad about the fires in Australia. That is very bad, too.
2 people like this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
11 Feb 09
I heard that on the news about the people trapped in the cars, as the fire was moving faster than the cars. Even if they find who started the fires, there is no way to ever make up for the great losses. I am just sick over this!
2 people like this
@messageme (2821)
• United States
23 Feb 09
If something bad happens around where I live I try to get as much news coverage on it as I can. But I live where not much happens. Hardly any tornados, definitly no hurricans so when soemthing does happen it is very big news for everyone around here!
2 people like this
@rebelann (111249)
• El Paso, Texas
4 Jan 20
Yeah, same here. Any bad weather we get is more often than not dust storms.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
14 Feb 09
at the beginning I may be glued to the tv because I really want to know as I feel for them people, etc, but when it gets to the point that it is making me ill and I know I cannot do anything about it other than get sick myself worrying over it, then I tune out.
1 person likes this
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
11 Feb 09
My area has had some very bad earthquakes. I do like to be prepared, so knowing what is happening is important to me. I will turn off coverage when they are just repeating the same thing over and over.
2 people like this
@KarenO52 (2950)
• United States
11 Feb 09
As soon as I heard tornado reports, I was hoping they wouldn't be near you. We have had our share of them in Ohio too. The most memorable one happened in 1985. My husband was at work, and on top of some structure at the steel mill when he saw the black whirling funnel coming his way. He managed to get to safer ground, and call me to let me know he was alright. I got all the kids together and went to sit it out in the safest part of the basement. My electric went out, and I had to find a battery operated radio to try and find out what was happening. I also managed to get in touch with some of my friends to make sure they were alright. One little town 10 miles away from me had most of the houses wiped out. We were lucky and only had some tree branches and shingles blown around. Today we might get some high winds, so I'm going to get my tnings done early in case my electric goes out, which frequently happens here with the high winds.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85660)
• United States
11 Feb 09
Yes, it seems like the electricity goes out quite often. Not at my parent's house, so if it is night time and the lights go out, Sherlock and I head over to my parent's house. We don't have a basement, but my apartment is in the safest place in the complex because of how low in the ground it is. So that is actually a plus. But I'm still glad I'm moving!
Be careful today! : )
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
11 Feb 09
Thank goodness, when we had our major disaster here on this small Island, a major Forest Fire, we were trapped on the Island, and the media was kept off, as NO Ferries would attend the Island, so NO one was coming! There was plenty of homes lost...BUT NO LIVES! It was after the fact, when I think all of us were experiencing post traumatic stress that the media wouldn't allow us to forget the nightmare! The fire started on July 23rd...And we still had fire suppression crews here in late September as the fire kept burning from ground fuel! We never knew when we would have to evacuate...or if! I have a real fear of fire, and that's why I commented on your Aunt's fire!
1 person likes this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
12 Feb 09
Yes...and you give it a whole new respect, when it is licking at the back of your property...and you have NO where to go, other than the Ocean!
1 person likes this
@quinnkl (1667)
• United States
12 Feb 09
Tornado storms are the things that scare me the most. I live in the midwest and it is a fact of life here in the spring. We have lived in a duplex without a basement for a few years now and I hope to find a place with a basement before too long, but finances prevent moves right now. But every spring I start worrying and hoping that we won't have to go through that close to us. I limit my television news watching under all circumstances. I have enough to worry about here in my own home and town than to have to see all the horrible things going on everywhere emphasized each night.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85660)
• United States
12 Feb 09
And I don't think there is anything wrong with limiting one's time watching the news. Some people may think it is hiding one's head in the sand, but the fact is, we have more news available to us now than ever before. So we are going to know what is going on, no doubt. If we can limit the intake, all the better for us.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
11 Feb 09
Hi ambie~ I sort of have mixed feelings about wanting to know
when bad things happen and avoiding them. I do usually end up
wanting to know what's happening even if it is bad news. But,
sometimes I just get too upset when I hear really bad things.
Like when I was reading about the fires in Australia and how
the animals were dying in the fires I just couldn't listen to
that anymore. It made me too upset to know that they were
trapped because they couldn't get moving fast enough to get out.
I have lived through too many really horrible things in my
life and I can't deal with any more really bad news events. I'm
sorry about what happened where you are too and I don't blame
you for not wanting to watch or listen to the news.
2 people like this
@UtopianIdealist (1604)
• United States
12 Feb 09
I am in Oklahoma as well, and it amazed me how quickly it seemed to of happened. I am not one who watches the weather on tv much, so it was quite a surprise when I heard OKC had been hit once again.
I have followed up a bit on it, I am not one who craves to hear the misery from those affected, but I did want to ensure that it was not as terrible as it has been in the past. My area did not get hit by the tornado, just a lot of rain and wind.
@AmbiePam (85660)
• United States
13 Feb 09
I saw a little bit this morning on News 9. A firefighter had shown some of the stuff he recorded as he was going through the wreckage. It included a portion where he found a little puppy that had been hiding. And the puppy was alive! It made my heart feel a little bit better. That the puppy lived, and some family was not going to have to be sad about that.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Feb 09
I heard about this tornado on TV and am so sorry that it happened. I am glad though that you are o.k. I watch disasters on TV only maybe once by choice. Sometimes though, I can go for months without watching any news from anywhere in the world. I think that I do this as there is just so much bad news that I can take. This is probably a safety mechanism for me. I do get distressed over bad news. I don't know if this is because I am older now or what. I woke up in the night and found myself praying for the people in Victoria, Australia. I pray because i believe ion the power of prayer. Only prayer has helped me in my life and on my journey. Lastly, I think that the news media are often intrusive and get right into people's faces. There is no respect for privacy. Blessings
1 person likes this
@Yestheypayme2dothis (7874)
• United States
11 Feb 09
I try not to watch local news at all. It is filled with so much crime. There is a lot of crime brought on people living in homes. Not saying that it does not happen in apartments but a lot of it is where people break into home and kill people. It has been a long time since I lived in a house...but I think about it living in one at times. Then I think it is too scary.
1 person likes this
@terri0824 (4991)
• United States
12 Feb 09
We had bad weather around here today where winds got up to 70 miles an hour in some places. Since September we have had 3 bouts of bad weather where people have lost their power. S0me have been hit all three times. Some just got their power back on Tuesday and are without power again today. Fortunately I have only lost it once.
I will watch some to see what is going on for the time, but I don't stay glued to the media coverage.
1 person likes this
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
6 Apr 09
I have to watch. We had those fires in Victoria, Australia recently and then the various floods too, and i have to watch. Mainly because I like to know of new places, but also to remind myself how lucky i am to not be caught up in those events (though we are on flood watch now). I also wait for the news of the wildlife in the area because they really have no escape.
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
11 Feb 09
I have to know everything when something horrible happens, dont know why but I just do I am glued to the tv or the web to find out the latest and what is happening. Usually for me this is in terms of happenings with the weather I have a bit of a fascination with the weather and so I tend to track anything that I hear about.
1 person likes this
@camomom (7535)
• United States
21 Feb 09
I am one of those people that wants to limit the coverage that I see but I am drawn to it so much that I have to know every detail. I guess it's because I want to know if there is anything that I can do to help or if anyone I know is involved.
1 person likes this
