For Kansans, these warmer months bring the start of Tornado season. Already we’ve had one warning here in Salina, and a number of severe storms. But while some longtime Kansans can be a little nonchalant with the tornadoes and storms that we get here (which is how my family and I once got caught in a supercell with a tornado just a mile or two north of us while camping), tornadoes and severe storms can bring real danger. And, though they may be the most infamous for Kansas, Tornadoes are just one of the natural disasters that we can get here; we also get dust storms, wildfires, floods, and of course the occasional 12+ inch freak winter storm. 

Natural Disasters around the world like hurricanes, volcanoes, wildfires, earthquakes and tornadoes cause significant damage and death globally.  And these disasters may be getting worse due to increasing global surface temperatures which can increase the number and intensity of natural disasters, especially droughts, wildfires, hurricanes and other storms. The book challenge theme for May, a book about a Natural Disaster, emphasizes the danger and power of nature featuring books that tell real and fictionalized stories of people trying to survive and rebuild after devastating natural disasters. 

Visit our webpage to learn more about our Book Challenge or if you’ve read a book fitting our Book Challenge themes, put in your name for a chance to win a prize!

The Children’s Blizzard – David Laskin 

Describes the deadly 1888 snowstorm in the Great Plains that killed more than five hundred people including numerous schoolchildren, describing how the storm devastated immigrant families and dramatically affected pioneer advancement.

Salvage the Bones: A Novel – Jesmyn Ward

Enduring a hardscrabble existence as the children of alcoholic and absent parents, four siblings from a coastal Mississippi town prepare their meager stores for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina while struggling with such challenges as a teen pregnancy and a dying litter of prize pups.

The Light Pirate – Lily Brooks-Dalton

“As the  effects of climate change begin to overwhelm America, we meet Wanda, a girl born during and named after a devastating hurricane. With civilization faltering in the  face of mounting challenges, she must learn to live differently. The  depiction of climate change and its effects here are bone-chilling, but Wanda’s resilience is inspiring.

Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens – Steve Olson.

Combining history and science, describes the 1980 eruption of Washington’s Mt. St. Helens, one of the largest in human history, which killed 57 people and deposited ash in 11 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.

Florida Man – Thomas Cooper

When his prospects are endangered by massive sinkholes appearing throughout Florida’s Emerald Island, a middle-aged beach bum uses his amateur spelunking skills to uncover artifacts that change his understanding of the island’s history and his own family’s birthright.

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of those who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl – Timothy Egan

Presents an oral history of the dust storms that devastated the Great Plains during the Depression, following several families and their communities in their struggle to persevere despite the devastation.

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World – John Vaillant

In May 2016, the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, burned to the ground, forcing 88,000 people to flee their homes. It was the largest evacuation ever of a city in the face of a forest fire, raising the curtain on a new age of increasingly destructive wildfires. This book is a suspenseful account of one of North America’s most devastating forest fires–and a stark exploration of our dawning era of climate catastrophes.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital – Sheri Fink

A Pulitzer Prize-winning doctor, reporter, and author reconstructs five days at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina destroyed its generators to reveal how caregivers were forced to make life-and-death decisions without essential resources, an experience that raised key issues about practitioner responsibilities and end-of-life care.

Rushing Waters: A Novel – Danielle Steel

An interior designer, her independent architect mother, a British investment banker, an ER doctor who survived Hurricane Sandy, and two NYU students are thrust together when a major hurricane descends upon New York City and wreaks unimaginable devastation.

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History – Erik Larson

Provides an account of the hurricane which struck Galveston, Texas, in 1900 and killed ten thousand people.