Natural Disaster Resources

The NEA School Crisis Guide has resources on preparing for, reacting to, and responding to a crisis. Additionally, we have available resources from the National Association of School Psychologists on Talking to Children about natural disasters and  Tips for Parents/Teachers and Crisis Teams.   We are also providing information on PTSD from the National Institute of Mental Health.

In the event of a natural disaster, NEA HIN has a continually updated list of materials.

In addition, NEA HIN has a Disaster Relief Fund (learn more about the disaster relief fund) that can participate in.

From Helping Children After a Natural Disaster: Information for Parents and Teachers:

Possible Reactions of Children and Youth to Natural Disasters

The severity of children’s reactions will depend on their specific risk factors. These include exposure to the actual event, personal injury or loss of a loved one, level of parental support, dislocation from their home or community, the level of physical destruction, and pre-existing risks, such as a previous traumatic experience or mental illness.  Adults should contact a professional if children exhibit significant changes in behavior or any of the following symptoms over an extended period of time.

• Preschoolers—thumb sucking, bed wetting, clinging to parents, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, fear of the dark, regression in behavior, and withdrawal from friends and routines.
• Elementary School Children—irritability, aggressiveness, clinginess, nightmares, school avoidance, poor concentration, and withdrawal from activities and friends.
• Adolescents—sleeping and eating disturbances, agitation, increase in conflicts, physical complaints, delinquent behavior, and poor concentration.

A minority of children may be at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms can include those listed above as well as re-experiencing the disaster during play and/or dreams; anticipating or feeling that the disaster is happening again; avoiding reminders of the disaster; general numbness to emotional topics; and increased arousal symptoms such as inability to concentrate and startle reactions.  Although rare, some adolescents may also be at increased risk of suicide if they suffer from serious mental health problems like PTSD or depression.  Again, adults should seek professional mental health help for children exhibiting these symptoms.

Immediately Following a Natural Disaster: Information for Parents and Teachers

Remain calm and reassuring. Children take their cues from you, especially young children. Acknowledge the loss or destruction, but emphasize the community’s efforts to cleanup and rebuild. To the extent it is possible to do so, assure them that family and friends will take care of them and that life will return to normal. 

Acknowledge and normalize their feelings. Allow children to discuss their feelings and concerns, and address any questions they may have regarding the event. Listen and empathize. An empathetic listener is very important. Let them know that their reactions are normal and expected.

Encourage children to talk about disaster-related events. Children need an opportunity to discuss their experiences in a safe, accepting environment.  Provide activities that enable children to discuss their experiences. This may include a range of methods (both verbal and nonverbal) and incorporate varying projects (e.g., drawing, stories, music, drama, audio and video recording). Seek the help of the school psychologist, counselor, or social worker if you need help with ideas or managing the conversation.

Promote positive coping and problem-solving skills. Activities should teach children how to apply problem-solving skills to disaster-related stressors.  Encourage children to develop realistic and positive methods of coping that increase their ability to manage their anxiety and to identify which strategies fit with each situation.

Emphasize children’s resiliency. Focus on their competencies. Help children identify what they have done in the past that helped them cope when they were frightened or upset. Bring their attention to other communities that have experienced natural disasters and recovered (e.g., Miami, FL and Charleston, SC). 

Strengthen children’s friendship and peer support. Children with strong emotional support from others are better able to cope with adversity. Children’s relationships with peers can provide suggestions for how to cope and can help decrease isolation. In many disaster situations, friendships may be disrupted because of family relocations. In some cases, parents may be less available to provide support to their children because of their own distress and feelings of being overwhelmed. Activities such as asking children to work cooperatively in small groups can help children strengthen supportive relationships with their peers.

Take care of your own needs. Take time for yourself and try to deal with your own reactions to the situation as fully as possible. You will be better able to help your children if you are coping well. If you are anxious or upset, your children are more likely to feel the same way. Talk to other adults such as family, friends, faith leaders, or counselors. It is important not to dwell on your fears or anxiety by yourself. Sharing feelings with others often makes people feel more connected and secure. Take care of your physical health. Make time, however small, to do things you enjoy. Avoid using drugs or alcohol to feel better.

Immediately Following a Natural Disaster: Specific Information for Schools

Identify children and youth who are high risk and plan interventions.  Risk factors are outlined in the above section on children’s reactions. Interventions may include classroom discussions, individual counseling, small group counseling, or family therapy.  From classroom discussions, and by maintaining close contact with teachers and parents, the school crisis response team can help determine which students need counseling services.  A mechanism also needs to be in place for self-referral and parent-referral of students.

Provide time for students to discuss the disaster.  Depending on the situation, teachers may be able to guide this discussion in class, or students can meet with the school psychologist or other mental health professional for a group crisis intervention. Classroom discussions help children to make some sense of the disaster. They also encourage students to develop effective means of coping, discover that their classmates share similar questions, and develop peer support networks. Teachers should not be expected to conduct such discussions if children are severely impacted or if they themselves are distressed.

Allow time for staff to discuss their feelings and share their experiences.  Members of your crisis team should also have the opportunity to receive support from a trained mental health professional. Providing crisis intervention is emotionally draining and caregivers will need an opportunity to process their crisis response. This could include teachers and other school staff if they have been serving as crisis caregivers for students.

Secure additional mental health support.  Although many caregivers are often willing to provide support during the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, long-term services may be lacking. School mental health professionals can help provide and coordinate mental health services, but it is important to connect with community resources as well in order to provide such long-term assistance. Ideally these relationships would be established in advance.

Helping Children Adjust to Relocation After a Natural Disaster

The frequent need to relocate after a disaster creates unique coping challenges.  It may contribute to the social, environmental, and psychological stress experienced by children and their families. Children will be most impacted by the reactions of their parents and other family members, the duration of the relocation, their natural coping style and emotional reactivity, and their ability to stay connected with friends and other familiar people and activities. To the extent possible parents and other caregivers should:

• Provide opportunities for children to see friends.
• Bring personal items that the child values when staying in temporary housing.
• Establish some daily routines so that the child is able to have a sense of what to expect (including returning to school as soon as possible).
• Provide opportunities for children to share their ideas and listen carefully to their concerns or fears.
• Be sensitive to the disruption that relocation may cause and be responsive to the child’s needs.
• Consider the developmental level and unique experiences of each child; it is important to remember that as children vary, so will their responses to the disruption of relocation,

In addition, school personnel should:

• Determine the status of every child in the school. Contact each child who is absent and keep a record. Identify the needs of children whose home was destroyed or damaged.
• Find out the phone numbers and addresses of every student that had to relocate. Encourage classmates to write notes or make phone calls.
• Develop an advisory committee of students to report back to school staff about what resources and changes in routines will help students cope.
• Listen to and observe students’ behavior. It takes time for children to understand and adjust to disasters. It is perfectly normal for them to discuss the event over and over again. Provide opportunities for children to discuss how they are coping. Use creative arts (e.g., drama, art, music, photography) to help them express their emotions.
• Help connect families to community resources. Bring agencies into the school that can deal with needs related to housing, finances, and insurance. Ensure that children get any necessary medical and emotional assistance.
• Increase staffing for before and after school care. If possible, extend the service for additional hours and even on weekends.
• Incorporate information about the disaster into related subject areas, as appropriate. Science, math, history, and language arts are especially relevant.