In Greensburg

Matt Deighton, a Greensburg native and volunteer coordinator for the South-Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization, was talking this afternoon about how humor can be helpful when dealing with stressful situations.

As he talked, the storm sirens went off in Greensburg. Everyone’s expression abruptly changed.

“That’s not funny,” he said. “I think they’re training a new dispatcher. . . I hope.”

The siren wound down, as Deighton predicted. Everyone in the volunteer center relaxed.

Something like a siren going off can trigger anxiety and fear in those who have been through a disaster like the Greensburg tornado, he said.

A few minutes later, the siren sounded again. One of the volunteers went to check. “Not funny,” he said as he left.

He returned shortly and announced it was just a test.

Storm siren test spooks volunteers