Hurricane Helene was devastating for many of our service providers and families in the eastern United States. Now forecasters are saying Hurricane Milton may bring more devastation to Florida and beyond.

You can find timely lessons for students in iSOSY's Disaster Preparedness Lesson Collection (including Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Flooding, and Wildfires).

In addition, the following resources (several available in both English and Spanish) by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and their partners are "to help children, families, and communities navigate the impacts of hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes; acknowledge their feelings; and find ways to cope together."

For Communities Who Are Preparing

• Make sure that your family is signed up for alert and warning systems. Discuss as a family what they sound like in your area (text messages, sirens, TV broadcast)—and what to do if they go off. Check out Make a Plan for more details.
• Create an emergency supply kit or make sure it is fully stocked. Check out Build a Kit for basic supplies needed and Additional Emergency Supplies for those that have additional needs to maintain their health, to communicate, to evacuate, and to maintain their safety.
• Ready Kids – ideas for talking to children and involving them in family disaster preparedness
• Help Kids Cope – mobile app with scripts and ideas to support children before, during, and after natural disasters

Hurricane Response Resources

• Parent Guidelines for Helping Children after a Hurricane (En Español)
• After the Hurricane: Helping Young Children Heal
• Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event (En Español: ASL)
• Simple Activities for Children and Adolescents (En Español)
• Trinka and Sam: The Rainy Windy Day—e-book for young children (En Español)
• College Students Coping After a Hurricane
• Teacher Guidelines Helping Students After a Hurricane
• Talking to Children: When Scary Things Happen (En Español)
• Tips for Parents on Media Coverage of Traumatic Events
• Once I Was Very Very Scared (En Español)—e-book for young children
• After the Injury—website for families with injured children
• Health Care Toolbox—website for pediatric health providers working with injured children
• Pause-Reset-Nourish (PRN) to Promote Wellbeing (En Español)—for responders
• Here for Each Other: Family Guide (from Sesame Street)

Resources on Traumatic Grief

• Helping Young Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
• Helping School-Age Children with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
• Helping Teens with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers
• The Power of Parenting: How to Help Your Child After a Parent or Caregiver Dies

Resources on Tornadoes

• Parent Guidelines for Helping Children after a Tornado
• Tips for Parents on Media Coverage of the Tornado
• Questions to Ask Your Children About the Tornado
• After the Tornado: Helping Young Children Heal
• Teacher Guidelines for Helping Students after a Tornado
• Trinka and Sam and the Swirling Twirling Wind—e-book for young children (En Español)
• Tornado Response for Kids: Right After a Tornado
• Tornado Response for Teens: Right After a Tornado

Psychological First Aid

The NCTSN also has resources for responders on Psychological First Aid (PFA; En Español). PFA is an early intervention to support children, adolescents, adults, and families impacted by these types of events. The PFA Wallet Card (En Español) provides a quick reminder of the core actions. The PFA online training (En Español) course is also available on the NCTSN Learning Center. PFA Handouts include: 

• Parent Tips for Helping Infants and Toddlers (En Español)
• Parent Tips for Helping Preschoolers (En Español)
• Parent Tips for Helping School-Age Children (En Español)
• Parent Tips for Helping Adolescents (En Español)
• Tips for Adults (En Español)

 Mobile Apps

• FEMA App –for you to receive real-time weather and emergency alerts, send notifications to loved ones, locate emergency shelters in your area, & get preparedness strategies
• Bounce Back Now (En Español) – for adults impacted by disasters
• PFA Mobile – for providers responding to impacted communities
• SAMHSA Behavioral Health Disaster Response App – for providers

Additional Resources from Partners:

• What To Do To Protect Yourself During Power Outages
• Reentering Your Flooded Home
• Sustaining the Psychological Well-Being of Caregivers While Caring for Disaster Victims
• Safety, Recovery and Hope after Disaster: Helping Communities and Families Recovery
• Leadership Communication: Anticipating and Responding to Stressful Events

Disaster Helpline

SAMHSA has a Disaster Distress Helpline – call or text 1-800-985-5990 (for Spanish, press “2”) to be connected to a trained counselor 24/7/365.

Additional Resources

For those that are needing technical assistance or additional resources, please don’t hesitate to contact NCTSN's Dr. Melissa Brymer at mbrymer@mednet.ucla.edu.