A tornado hazard analysis for Indiana and an evaluation of the emergency management needs of the Amish community

This study addressed emergency management preparedness and local citizen recovery from a disaster event through a case study of the Elkhart County, Indiana 18 October 2007 tornado. A discussion of the disaster recovery process of Amish households in northern Indiana enables local emergency managers to gain a better understanding of disaster recovery needs for specialized populations. The primary objective to be addressed by this thesis was to create a tornado climatology for emergency managers to use as part of a comprehensive, local hazard analysis. Secondary to that was to examine the differences in Amish and non-Amish response to a tornado event in Indiana’s Homeland Security District 2 and formulate suggestions for tailoring local emergency management programs to this diverse community.Department of GeographyThesis (M.S.