If you want to read an uplifting book about how people react after a tragic event read "The Day the world came to town" by Jim Defede.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Day-World-Came-Town/dp/0060559713
After 9/11 dozens of planes were diverted to a small town in Newfoundland, Canada.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in the town and could not get out or back home.
So the townsfolk banded together to help these stranded people.
They let them sleep in their houses, they fed them, they even then started to entertain them by teaching people new skills like how to play chess or bridge to keep them occupied.
They also took them out for walks in the nature reserves in the local area.
It is an amazing book which will restore your faith in human nature.