Growing up in central Virginia and later moving to the Washington, D.C., area, natural disasters took the form of thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, snowfalls and ice storms. I even experienced an earthquake in Silver Spring, Maryland in the summer of 2011.
But until last Monday, my only personal experience with the word “landslide” was when I first heard it on Nov. 7, 1973, when reporters and political pundits used that same word over and over to describe Republican Richard Nixon’s overwhelming victory in the presidential election against challenger South Dakota Democratic Sen. George McGovern.
My lack of experience changed the evening of Monday, Nov. 20, when a landslide at 11-Mile Zimovia Highway destroyed homes and cost lives. As the search began for survivors, I reacquainted myself with other words, other emotions in the days that followed: shock, fear, desolation and grief.
We’ve all had to deal with them at one time or another, and those were some of the emotions I saw in the faces of residents struggling to come to terms with overwhelming tragedy.
But they weren’t the only things I witnessed in the past week.
As volunteers and officials searched for the people caught in the slide, and evacuees were offered donated food, clothing and warm beds, I beheld resilience in the face of adversity.
When the schools closed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and the elementary school gym stayed open with grief counselors that morning, I saw people who were there for each other no matter what. As residents supported each other, I saw a community coming together.
At the Thanksgiving dinner held at the community center the next day, I met Marina Backman, who owns the shop Made in Wrangell. She showed me the T-shirt she designed the previous night. Amid a backdrop that resembled the northern lights were the words that have been shared on community Facebook pages and hashtagged all over social media in the wake of this tragedy: “Wrangell strong.”
The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony had been postponed in previous years because of bad weather and power outages. With the events of the past week, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it happened again this year as everyone certainly has their hands full right now. But volunteers who donated their time and effort at previous ceremonies will work to make the event happen on schedule Saturday, Dec. 2.
The holiday lights will shine brightly. Proving Wrangell strong, indeed.
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