Americans showed resilience this year in the face of tornados, wildfires, floods and the aftermath of hurricane sandy. Consider this after a year filled with terrible Natural Disasters, how are those affected getting their lives back together . Also for the first time in close to 600 years a pope stepped down, as the appointment of pope francis reinvigorated the Catholic Church. And dr. Wendy walsh is here to tell us how to avoid the holiday blues. And if you think of classics like its a wonderful life and miracle of 34th street, well talk about some of the classics you may not have heard of. We begin with a look back at some of the Natural Disasters that after afflicted so many americans. Reporter first the sirens. Then the frantic race to take cover. Some in basements. Others in bathtubs. The final warning is unmistakab unmistakable. An erie stillness blankets the land. Two f5 level tornados ripped through oklahoma. Winds crashed through neighborhoods at nearly 300 miles an hour. This was one of the biggest and strongest tornados ever. His wind field and intensity were among the strongest that have been ever observed. Reporter this scientist approached the tornado with his research team. After scanning in he knew the risk was to high to move forward. But nearby a group of tornado tornado. Once inside it is very difficult to maneuver. The winds are maybe blowing 70, 100 miles an hour. Reporter tim, his son paul, and colleague, very experienced and skilled Storm Chasers died that day, the first time on record that a tornado killed Storm Chasers. Authorities say these two disasters left over 30 dead, hundreds injured, and 10s of thousands of homes destroyed. For all of those affected we recognize you face a long road ahead. In some cases there will be enormous grief that has to be absorbed, but you will not travel that path alone. Reporter now six months later the communities in oklahoma fight on. These communities are quite resi resill resilient. They are good at recovering from these things. It was traumatic to see parts of houses and giant trees i didnt even know lived in colorado going down the river and into our house. Reporter nearly a years worth of rain dumped over the Northern Rockies in just four days. Mountain sides came crashing down. David tiller is just one of thousands displaced in what event. The community is brought and we have rallied well. Reporter but now over three months later those effected are struggling to stay afloat. People cant manage to pay the bank and pay our rent at the same time. Reporter residents are waiting to here about possible buyout option knowing this might not be the last storm. Mounting. So there are a lot of people that are scared and panicked. A lot of panic about what they are going to do in the future. If you are still in zone a and can find a way to leave, leave immediately. Reporter ten states call a state of emergency. Governors and mayors urge evacuation. Amtrak shuts down, schools close, Airlines Cancel all flights. This 22yearold packed up his basement and headed for Higher Ground we knew our house was the first in line to get hit. From that point on we knew life wasnt going to be the same. Reporter the family evacuated to a relatives house, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when the storm saddled. It looked like a war zone. Reporter many residents are frustrated by government buyout offers, delays in federal aide and pending payments. Its the most frustrating part, the problem has now washed ahead, and people who are homeless, and this problem should have been addressed years ago, but for some people it is just a little too late. They lost everything when this problem could have been addressed years ago. Reporter resiliency remains not in just the hardesthit nation. I hurt just like my nextdoor neighbor hurts. We all go through it, and so we really need to focus on that today. Helping one another. People helping each other. That has been the throughout all of these storms. Floods and wildfires and one arizona. Yeah, that was the most disastrous wildfire of the year. 19 firefighters died, and thats the highest in this country. Yeah, very, very sad. Storms we were lucky this year, we dealt with the aftermath of sandy, but there werent any big hurricanes. What were the most devastating storms . The as you saw there in the video, the colorado floods. The midwest floods were also very devastating. Oklahoma tornados, and the california rim fire in Yosemite National park that was the largest that this area had seen. And it was inching toward a reservoir that supplies 85 of san franciscos water. Terrifying for that city. Right. And we also saw man made events that were very tragic, and made femas list of disasters. Sure there were two. The Boston Marathon bombing, which we remember that Media Coverage completely devastating. And the other was in west texas, the fertilizer plant explosion. And what was really devastating about that was it started out as just a fire. Firefighters came as they were putting it out, thats when the explosion happened. Of the 14 fatalities nine were first responders. Very, very sad as well. And which people are having the sandy . There has been massive building, but still in the rock a ways, breezy point, statton island, people are still struggling, and in these cold difficult. Yeah, so many people struggling. Thank you for giving us this look back. For more im joined be the Senior Vice President for drastic Cycle Services at the american red cross, he is responsible for developing and executing plans to help americans deal with disasters. Richard thank you for joining us. Lets talk we will talk about the specific responses to some of the big weather events, and look at the Natural Disasters in general. When it came to natural generals how did 2013 compare to 2012 . They were not dissimilar in terms of the frequency and type of events. We did not see any major hurricanes make landfall. So that was a good thing. But we saw an above average wildfire season. A tornado season that started early and continued until even november of this year. We basically have seen about 146 major disasters that the red cross responded to across the country in 2013. So for us we also responded to over 52,000 times to single and multifamily house fires that occur on a daily and actually every ten minutes on average in this country, so it was a busy year for the american red cross. Yeah, it sounds like it. How many people affected by these events are still struggling to put their lives together tonight and what is the red cross doing to help them . I dont have the particular numbers on how many people, but most individuals and families that experience a major disaster, be it a flood, tornado, wildfire or even a singlefamily house fire spend a lot of time putting their lives together. The red cross is there before the bad event happens in terms of helping people prepare, but were also there when the bad things happen, helping people with shelter opportunities, providing hot food and warm clothes for folks that have lost everything, in addition to providing financial assistance, to help with security deposits and first and lastmonths rent. And then of course on the recovery side its everything from individuals and families in terms of recovering, planning, covering everything from Financial Planning advice and support from Partner Organizations to really helping people connect with services in their Community Whether it be at level. But the red cross and other release leaf relief organizations can only do so much. We saw it in its worst possible case in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. Have things gotten better . It continues to improve every time. Were better at coordinating with each other, whether it be fema and hhs on the federal side, all the way down to our nonprofit organizations, and we partner to help provide services when times are needed. We also spend a lot of time planning for a coordinated response to events. So we have improved our capacity to respond as a nation, but also to prepare communities and individuals for the likelihood areas. Hurricane sandy the biggest Natural Disaster of 2012, it came at the end of the year, we heard from janna about how people are still suffering. What is the red cross still doing . How involved are you in the northeastern area . Yeah, we remain committed to the area impacted by sandy not just new york and new jersey but other parts of the country that were impacted by that event. The red provided over 74 million in support to 60 different organizations providing Services Every day in these communities. Everything from food banks to habitat for humanity, save the children and other organizations that are providing care that we dont provide. We feel we have a responsibility to support recovery not only from what we do, but in terms of helping individuals and others. So red cross remained engaged in sandy and floods in illinois, tornados in oklahoma, and wildfires and floods in colorado. So were still there. And you mentioned preparing people for the next events. How much can you actually do to prepare for another sandy or another big wildfire or some huge floods . The challenge with preparedness is there is no one organization that can accommodate the needs of the american public. That said, i will tell you that while we cant predict with any certainty the types of events that are going to happen and when they will in communities, we do know historically that floodprone area typically flood at typical times during the year. You need to think about floods wildfires tornados and those sorts of things in other areas. So i think we need to focus in on those things that are most likely to happen in communities, and help people think about what they can and should do. Everything from if you are in a flood prone area, you probably know it. If you have mortgage you probably have flood insurance. If not, you probably need to look into that. You can think about things you do within your own home to protect not only your belongings, but also the folks that live there. Do you have an evacuation route. Do you know where your sensitive papers are. And if your basement typically floods maybe you dont want to put those things in a basement, but put them in a higher element of your home. On the home fires the red cross spends most of our time, as i said eight or nine minutes every day responding to a home fire somewhere. Thats a hazard we can make a dent in on the preparedness side. Whether that is having smoke alarms and changing their bratries, making sure you know what condition your furnace is in, and how to prevent oven fires, for example, those things we can actually help people learn how to do, and make an numbers. As we always hear people say the generosity of others is so important. Good samaritans, neighbors who help each other, and i know the red cross depends on americans for your funds. So i thank you for what you do this. Thank you very much. Coming up for the first time in close to 600 years a pope advocated, and pope francis was appointed the new pontiff. How much has he actually changed the church . And what do you think . Join the conversation on twitter primetime news. Welcome to Al Jazeera America. Stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. Im back. Im not going anywhere this time. Primetime news weeknights at 8 and 11 eastern. Only on Al Jazeera America. Pope francis is certainly having a blessed year, by religious standards. He was elected to the papacy and chose his name after the patron saint of the poor, francis of asisi. Tender moments with his embrace of two severely disfigured people, and a little boy who didnt want to believe the stage went viral. But he is really changing Church Doctrine or just the way the message is delivered . Father james is america at large magazine, and joins us now from his office in midtown manhattan. This has undoubtedly been Pope Franciss here. Why is he loved by so many . He is authentic. He walks the walk. I think the fact he started off very simply, driving around in his crummy 1984 renault really struck people. And he uses symbols that in ways that people can relate to. He signals his humility immediately. He took the name of francis and humbly asked the crowd to pray for him before anything else. What is the significance of his choice of names . Thats a great question. I think some people may have felt it was too holy, but the hope really wanted to choose that name as his sign for the love of the poor and love of poverty and simplicity. You mentioned how he lives simply. He lived modestly in argentina. He lived in an apartment. He has refused most of the guilted trappings of being pope. Is that message how important is the message that he is sending with the way he lives . Its extremely important. I think if he preached a love of poverty and love for the poor and simple lifestyle, people wouldnt take him seriously. This starts as early as from his first vows of jesuit. This is who he is and what he is used to. And i think people are really responding to that. This living simply, though, is such a big break with tradition. How it is being received awrong vatican . Thats hard to say. I think most people are delighted and the idea that the pope would be man of the year and people would be listening to them and sympathetic to the Catholic Churchs message is really positive. There are some people that are disturbed by some of the changes he is trying to initiate. But for the most part people are delighted. He has gone after corruption another the vatican bank, and moved some high protile people out of positions there at the vatican. Polls show him seen favorably, but when you look at the hierarchy of the church, is he 92 popular . Well, i dont know. But remember that this conclave elected him, and one of the things they really wanted to do most of the cardinals talked about this before his election, was to clean up the vatican bank and reform the curi curia. And i think he is right in line with what they hoped and expected him to do. He surprised everyone when he talked about homosexuals by saying. But thats a major change from Pope Benedict who said that homosexuality is quote. On the other hand francis objected to women becoming priests saying. So is this all an indication that there are policy changes coming or just a change in the churchs tone . Well, i think its a decided change in the churchs tone, which is a change. I think its very important to see that even a change in the churchs tone signifies a new way of talking to people which will change the way people see the church. All you need to do is ask gays and lesbians for their reaction. The gay and lesbian advocate magazine just named him person of the year. Time magazine as you say named him person of the year, and. Should they have hope . Is he a doctrine of old traditionals who wont change up, or is he a true reformer . He is not going to change Church Doctrine. He is not going to say there is no trinity or jesus didnt rise from the dead or Something Like that. But i think the fact that he is shaking things up shows that the holy spirit does what the holy spirit wants to do, and were seeing the spirit at work as people are seeing that and listening to what he is saying. Is there a chance hell reform other things that is not doctrinal. His only living sibling is a sister who is divorced. Is there a chance he might allow a path back to the church for divorced catholics . I think thats one hope for change. The archbishop said pretty much everything is on the table, and no topic is taboo. And the conception of divorce and remarriage and back to the church is something people will be looking carefully at. Many think he shouldnt changes thing, and follow in the footsteps of Pope Benedict, and those who think he is going too far, how big of an issue is that going to be for the church . Those categories are more political categories. Pope francis is conservative in the sense that he wants to conserve Church Doctrine, but he is more liberal than any democrat by talking by income inquality and the tyranny of the market. Things. On that note, the pope has been open and at times supportive about priests who espouse liberation theology which certainly is the extreme left of the Catholic Church, and thats a big departure from his predecessors. John paul ii can [ inaudible ]. Tone. It is more than a change of tone. I think you are finding concepts like liberation theology, although he doesnt use those terms much more front and center. He uses the worlds social ju justice justice. And he is giving it a spin and force that i dont think we have seen in a long time. And that focus has upset conservatives in the u. S. , not necessarily catholic. Rush limbaugh said his views the popes views on poverty were quote. The pope took it in stride saying. Do you think we are going to start seeing more of that noisement coming out of the american right . I dont know. I would say to people like Rush Limbaugh go and learn the meaning of catholic social teaching to sort of steal a phrase from jesus. This is catholic social teaching he is espousing. It is certainly not marxism or an attack on capitolism per se. This has been the churchs teaching since leo the 13th. We have a social media question for you, father. Father, we asked our viewer is pope francis moving the Catholic Church in a new direction . Viewer stanley responded, not in a new direction. He is moving the church back to where it should have been the whole time. Do you agree . I think the church has always been there. But i think he is trying to sort of put it front and center. I think he is trying to remind us that the church has always been there. I spent two years in east africa, working with refugees in the 1990s. So its not as if the church has suddenly discovered his commitment to the pour. But pope francis is trying to remind us of what has always been there. Do you think he will be a transformtive pope . U. S. . I think he already is tra