Lowcountry NOW: Local News - Relentless hurricane season causes stress 09/06/04




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Local News	Web posted Monday, September 6, 2004

Despite the high winds, Ed and Gene Comar of Aiken made their way to the beach on Hilton Head Island. They stopped to talk with a lifeguard on Sunday afternoon. Pete Marovich/Carolina Morning News

Reggie DeLacruz attempts to master the heavy surf caused by hurricane Frances while surfing Sunday at Burkes Beach on Hilton Head Island. -Carolina Morning News

Relentless hurricane season causes stress

Charleston: Researcher says worry should be channeled into readiness.

By Bruce Smith
The Associated Press

It has been a relentless hurricane season for South Carolinians. Residents have dealt with four storms, fretted about a fifth and the peak of the season doesn't even arrive until the middle of this month.

Even if there has been no damage to you and yours, the nonstop hurricane season of 2004 is likely taking a toll.

"People cannot live under constant stress for long periods of time without it taking some effect on their mental life and physical health," said Dean Kilpatrick, the director of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Kilpatrick, who has researched the psychological effects of natural disasters and the 2001 terror attacks on people, said storms cause stress before they arrive, when they hit and in the aftermath.

The stress, he said, may be more when people know what storms can do, such as the thousands of South Carolinians who weathered Hurricane Hugo, which hit the coast with 135 mph winds 15 years ago this month.

"We have a lot of people here who have experienced the big one, so they have a good idea of what a Category 4 storm could do if it's a direct hit," he said.

Coastal residents quickly learn to monitor the Weather Channel and know when the National Hurricane Center issues updates, even if it's for a storm hundreds of miles away.

"It's the apprehension that makes if difficult for people to function at peak efficiency," he said.

Things probably have not been very efficient along the South Carolina coast in recent weeks.

First Hurricane Alex made a feint at the coast. Then came a soaking from Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Hurricane Charley made a second landfall in Charleston County after devastating Florida and then, a few weeks later and a few miles away, Tropical Storm Gaston spun ashore flooding homes and leaving tens of thousands without power.

Then came the scare from Hurricane Frances. And it's not over. Ivan is still lurking out in the Atlantic.

Dealing with the stress means knowing it is normal and trying to do those things you can to deal with the storm, Kilpatrick said.

"We should first realize it's not abnormal to be worried about Category 4 hurricanes," he said. "Two, we should use that concern to do those things we can do to be squared away and get ready to evacuate and not get complacent."

Some people, he said, get fatalistic - they are either convinced the storm just won't come here or are sure of a direct hit. That may be a way to deal with worry, but the downside is that people then might not take the steps they need to take to prepare.

"Having been through Hugo, the anticipatory anxiety was bad, but getting hit by Hugo was much worse and the aftermath of Hugo was pretty bad too," he said. "I think one of the reasons we are scared of these things is we know what they can do."

Kilpatrick said people can take some comfort in knowing that the hurricane season eventually will end.

"The fact that it's time-limited, although it comes every year, can be a help. You don't have to be on guard all the time and that's good if there is some respite from it," he said.

The stress will be there when a storm threatens.

"My advice to people is be prudent, pay some attention to it and do the things you can do to prepare," Kilpatrick said.