The Flint-Beecher Tornado of 1953: The "Other" in the Aftermath of Disaster

The tornado that struck Flint, Michigan, on June 8, 1953, was the deadliest in Michigan's history and ranks among the top ten deadliest tornadoes in United States history.¹ This F5 event (the highest on the Fujita scale, in use until January 2007), known as the Flint-Beecher tornado, killed 116 and injured 844 in the Flint area.² This event was the deadliest tornado "since modern recordkeeping began in 1950," a statistic only recently surpassed by the May 2011 EF5 (the highest on the Enhanced Fujita scale, in use since February 2007) tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 162.³

A research team of sociologists from what was then Michigan State College (now Michigan State University, henceforth MSC) conducted interviews with individuals and organizations who responded in its immediate aftermath. They came to a number of conclusions regarding the efficiency of the response phase, the success of the first responders in terms of communication and cooperation, and attitudes towards the various bodies that engaged in the response. There were several occasions during which frustration or disgust was expressed towards various "Others": late-arriving volunteers considered sightseers, strangers with unknown intentions, and even a Mexican family accused of benefitting from the disaster because their post-tornado house, built with disaster aid, was better than their original home.⁴

This article considers the sociological concept of the Other as evidenced in the MSC interviews after the Flint-Beecher tornado. Sociologists, who have explored the important links between disaster research and social history, have defined the Other as that "constituting a non-normative status," or having "a unique cultural status … as an outsider and as a social threat."⁵ This analysis combines those definitions rather simplistically; a separate treatment using the second definition would be appropriate given more information on the cultural groups affected by the tornado.

The identification of the Other can sometimes be beneficial, as in recognizing that strangers presented the threat of looting. In the case of the Mexican family, however, the identification of them as the Other indicated exclusionism and even prejudice. The significance of the Other in disaster is connected to what was considered "normal" in society.

A return to pre-disaster normality, or the establishment of a new normal, is the goal of individuals and communities in the wake of disaster and symbolizes recovery.⁶ The presence of an Other can be connected to what is not considered normal, be it the presence of someone new (like a military presence remaining long after war is over) or a change in the status quo (like the Mexican family that appeared to benefit from the disaster). The presence of an Other may create a dissonance in terms of returning to normal or reaching a new normal. In the case of the Flint-Beecher tornado, investigating the status of Other attached to certain people illuminates how this label emerged and what it meant for community recovery. The impetus for this study emanates from an interest in the vulnerability of certain populations in the wake of disaster. As disaster scholars have noted, within this context vulnerability can be defined as "the inability to evade, withstand, recover from, or externalize the costs of a disaster or of preparing for it."⁷

Researchers have documented the disturbing trend of higher disaster-related fatalities in minority groups.⁸ This is, in part, related to poorer

Damage from the Flint-Beecher tornado of 1953.

Source: National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1953_Beecher_tornado.jpg)

housing conditions in minority-dominated regions.⁹ Housing is also a troublesome factor in the wake of any disaster whenever familes are displaced and must acquire temporary housing. Researchers have also found significant evidence that the general psychological stress and trauma experienced during and after disaster is higher, longer lasting, and more severe for minority groups.¹⁰ In addition, during the response phase to a disaster the needs of racial minority groups may not be addressed in the same manner as those of white...