Tornadoes Highlight Need for Sustainable Resilience, Recovery

Tornadoes keep striking the Midwest like so many hammers pounding away at one nail after another.

 On Sunday, November 17, 81 tornadoes hammered southeastern Illinois, impacting as many as nine states total, killing eight people, flattening hundreds of homes, and decimating farms and businesses. At one point, more than 19,000 people were without power.  Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn declared a state of emergency for seven counties. Said meteorologist Tom Skilling of Chicago’s WGN TV, “The storm may have produced the most powerful Illinois November tornado on record outside of St. Louis (and possibly elsewhere) and maybe one of the four most intense Great Lakes storms of the past five decades.”

 Just looking at the pictures of the devastation makes me shudder. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been to live through it, or how discouraging it must be for those who are sifting through the rubble for their personal belongings and wondering where they’re going to sleep, let alone live.

They’re also facing an important and not necessarily clear decision. Should they rebuild? And if so, how?