LEXINGTON, Ky. — A University of Kentucky oral historian is exploring how the sudden destruction of buildings and homes during natural disasters affects survivors' sense of identity and psychological well-being, drawing from her own experience with a devastating tornado that destroyed her childhood home.

Kopana Terry, oral history archivist at the UK Libraries' Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, is conducting research into the psychological impacts of rapid environmental loss. Her work examines how physical spaces—from bedroom walls to town layouts—become integral to human identity, and what happens when disaster strips them away.

"Our identity is so tied to the buildings that we inhabit," Terry said. "When you take that away, it's a big adjustment."

Terry's research was inspired by personal tragedy. On March 2, 2012, an EF3 tornado devastated her hometown of West Liberty in Morgan County, destroying her family home of 70 years. The tornado killed six people in the county and left a path of destruction across eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

The tragedy motivated Terry to investigate a psychological concept called thigmotaxis—a primitive instinctual need for safety provided by physical structures. In disasters, the sudden loss of these protective environments can leave individuals in a state of primal fear, she explains.

To document this phenomenon, Terry drew on her background in photography and oral history to conduct 30 oral histories with Morgan County residents and experts in weather and Appalachian culture. The interviews explored how people adjusted to their transformed communities and landscapes.

Terry's research focus was solidified through support from CURATE (Celebrating University Research Across the Enterprise), a program funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research. The funding allowed her to attend the National Preservation Conference in Washington, D.C.

"That conference let me know that this work was important," Terry said. "As everybody else is concentrating on the seaboard, somebody needs to look at what's happening in the interior and specifically in Appalachia."

Her findings have broader implications for climate change communication. By using oral history and focusing on personal weather experiences rather than abstract climate terminology, researchers can find common ground with communities that resist traditional climate messaging, Terry found.

"If we can document this stuff and keep talking about it, we can keep younger generations involved and interested," she said.