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For the victims caught up in the heart of these situations it is traumatic in the extreme. Just imagine seeing your home and belongings destroyed, your vehicle swept away, and being unable to contact anyone because there is no power or phone line. A family member and pets could be missing too. You are rescued by strangers or emergency workers and taken to a makeshift facility where you are given basic food and clothes.
Non-speakers of the local language, as well as the vulnerable or those caring for others, could find it even more frustrating and frightening. For locals, expats and visitors alike, emotions could initially include shock, terror, panic, fear, grief, helplessness, sorrow, hopelessness and despair. These emotions could then change to feelings of anger, abandonment, betrayal, disgust, bitterness, resentment, and blaming.
This was in fact seen by the King and Queen of Spain when they visited Valencia. They became the “punch bag” for the victims to vent their feelings, and even had mud thrown at them, so desperate were the locals to express their frustration with “the authorities” and the perceived delays in getting help to them. As for the Royals trying to show moral support, they may well have had a sense of humiliation, or failure.
In the case of all the emergency service professionals who were drafted into the rescue operations and clean up, we can only imagine their own feelings of dread, nervousness, sadness, horror, heartache, and overwhelm at what they had to deal with. Friends and relatives of people “unaccounted for” were, most likely, crying inside, longing for good news, anxious, worried, confused, discouraged and feeling a total lack of control.
On a positive note, the fundraising efforts, donations of supplies, and hands-on help by the community (and by expats in particular) has been so impressive and heartwarming!
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