Leadership and Heart Spur Response and Recovery

PurdueAgricultures

By Julie Douglas

Indiana weather was a bitter pill to swallow during 2008, delivering torrential rainfall and leaving thousands of Hoosiers flooded out of their homes and businesses in January, February, June and again in September.

“The two floods in January and February were very significant because they affected people, but the extent of the damage was relatively small compared to the June flood,” says Chuck Hibberd, director of Purdue Extension. “After the winter floods, we assessed our response efforts and changed accordingly, so we would be better equipped to respond. It really paid off when widespread floods occurred a few months later.”

The early June flood destroyed structures, carried soil from farm fields, left massive gullies and damaged infrastructure like roads and bridges. More than 40 counties were declared disaster areas, and as of Oct. 1, more than 30,000 Hoosiers had registered as flood victims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Purdue Extension educators and specialists responded quickly, delivering information to flood victims and staffing local command centers with first responders. As of October, more than 21,000 copies of First Steps to Flood Recovery, a Purdue Extension publication designed to help flood victims, had been delivered to homeowners and shelters.

“Our role was to get information into the hands of the public so they knew what to do,” says Steve Cain, Purdue Extension disaster communication specialist. “Flood victims can be so overwhelmed that they don’t know what to do at first. This publication provides a strategy to take appropriate action, a message that helps relieve stress,” he says.

“The flood publication came at the perfect time and was a means of support and comfort,” says Gordon Johnson, CEO of the American Red Cross of Northwest Indiana. “It’s an extremely useful tool and provides flood victims with step-by-step instructions on how to recover and repair their home.”

In the immediate aftermath of the floods, more than 20,000 people accessed the Purdue Extension Disaster Education Network Web site at The site provides flood recovery information for homeowners, crop and livestock producers and relief agencies.

Other flood-related Purdue responses included the following.

More than a dozen news releases were issued to the media, addressing flood repair, food safety, well and septic safety, crop insurance, replanting and advice for parents on how to talk with their children about natural disasters.

Mold remediation updates were conducted in each of the flooded counties.

Crop specialists helped assess the crop situation and made replanting recommendations during a toll-free teleconference organized by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

Eighteen long-term recovery committees formed to address such issues as land reclamation, insect problems and the safe handling of flooded produce.

Cain says the disaster exposed Indiana’s vulnerability but also showed that the Hoosier state has phenomenal strength. “There is a great deal of leadership and heart involved from the people guiding the response efforts and leading the long-term recovery.”

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