Children and Disasters

Tips for Parents: Children Coping With Disaster

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2007 – Children are especially vulnerable during and after a disaster, mental health experts say. Even if they haven’t lost belongs or a loved one, children are susceptible to all the anxiety and uncertainty around them.

“It’s up to us grownups to help children get through these stressful situations,” said Joscelyn Silsby, who manages preparedness education for the American Red Cross.

Silsby is a mother herself, so this is important to her both personally and professionally.

In the aftermath of a disaster, adults may be too stressed to realize how their emotions are affecting the children in their lives. If you’re feeling stressed, Silsby encourages people to follow these Red Cross recommendations:

• Take a few deep breaths to relax.
• Count to 10 before speaking.
• Talk to an adult family member or friend.
• Take a short break. Ask a family member or trusted friend to look after the child while you “regroup.”
• Be consistent and positive in your rules for behavior.
• Use patience – never use harsh words.
• Show love and respect.
• Give extra comfort to your family.

Silsby noted children can be affected directly by the stress of a disaster, whether they are involved or they are exposed through conversations or media reports.

Experiences such as being evacuated, seeing others hurt or being hurt themselves, or seeing adults panic can be traumatic. Losing belongings or a loved one or pet – or even losing contact with friends or teachers – can set off a cascade of grief or unexpected behavior.

It’s important for parents and other caregivers to understand what is causing a child’s anxieties. Silsby said that following a disaster, children are most afraid that:

• The event will happen again.
• Someone close to them will be killed or injured.
• They will be left alone or separated from their family.

Adults can clarify misunderstandings of risk and danger by acknowledging children’s concerns. Talking about how the adults and the community are preparing for the future can strengthen a child’s sense of safety and security.

Listen to what a child is saying. If a child asks questions, answer with the amount of detail appropriate to the child’s age; children vary in the amount of information they need and can understand. If a child has trouble expressing his or her thoughts and feelings, encourage them to draw a picture or tell a story about what’s troubling them.

The Red Cross suggests parents and caregivers:

• Encourage the child to talk and listen to their concerns.
• Calmly provide factual information about what happened and plans for ensuring their safety.
• Be sure the child gets plenty of rest.
• Involve the child in updating a family disaster plan and in making a disaster supplies kit.
• Practice the disaster plan.
• Involve the child by giving them specific tasks to let them know they can help restore family and community life.
• Spend extra time with the child.
• Re-establish daily routines for work, school, play and meals.
• Limit exposure to news coverage of the disaster. Especially for young children, repeatedly watching images of an upsetting event can lead them to believe it is happening again and again.

Meanwhile, Silsby said, adults should be realistic about their own coping skills following a disaster. “If you find yourself overwhelmed, don’t try to ‘go it alone’,” he said. “The Red Cross has people specifically trained to help in these situations.”

For information about Red Cross assistance or disaster preparedness, call 1-800-HELP NOW or your local Red Cross chapter.

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.

Southern Storms Overview

Red Cross Workers Serve Survivors of Thursday’s Southern Storms
Operations spread among 29 counties in two states

Editorial note: You can get up-to-the-minute updates on the relief operations in Alabama at www.redcrossal.wordpress.com – and in Georgia at www.redcrossga.wordpress.com – and feel free to push the information to the public on your schedule. For national media, the best contact is the Disaster Operations Center , available 24 hours a day at 202-303-5551.

BIRMINGHAM, Al., March 2, 2007 – The American Red Cross has opened up two disaster relief operations in response to Thursday’s severe weather outbreak in Alabama and Georgia. Twelve counties in Alabama were affected by the storms. Coffee County was the hardest hit with 90% of the damage. Preliminary reports show that 250 houses were either destroyed or suffered Major damage and 500 houses suffered minor damage. In Georgia the storms affected 19 counties with the Americus and Albany suffering the most damage. There are preliminary reports that 250 homes were either destroyed or suffered major damage and 450 homes received minor damages.

In Alabama, three shelters housed a total population of 65 overnight. The Blood Region in Birmingham shipped blood products to hospitals in the affected areas and is prepared to assist in other ways. The Coffee County Chapter is providing meals and snacks to the impacted area around Enterprise, with the help of six mobile feeding vans from across the Southeast. So far, the Red Cross has served approximately 1500 meals in the area. Emergency Communication Vehicles with satellite phone technology have also been sent to the Enterprise area to assist in the recovery and disaster assessment.

In Georgia, Red Cross Chapters in affected areas opened three chapters last night and more are expected to open today to accommodate residents as needed. Those shelters are expected to serve a population of between 50 and 60 people. The Central Georgia chapter will take its shelter trailer to Americus to assist in recovery efforts. Eleven feeding vans are deployed to the area with more potentially headed that way as needed. The Middle Flint Chapter in Americus fed more than 1,000 people just for lunch alone on Friday.

Additional volunteers will be dispatched soon, to begin the task of individual family casework as needed.

American Red Cross has yet to estimate how much Thursday’s storms will cost the organization. Every Red Cross dollar used is a donated dollar. Anyone who would like to give to the National Disaster Relief Fund should call 800-RED-CROSS or contact your local chapter.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of these tornadoes and thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Post Disaster Tips

In the immediate aftermath of a major storm event, the dangers and frustrations do not end when the skies clear. The American Red Cross recommends the following steps and advice for those affected by the recent bout of tornados and high wind:

• Avoid using the telephone (cellular or landlines) if a large number of homes in your area have been affected by a disaster. Emergency responders need to have the telephone lines available to coordinate their response. During the immediate post- disaster time period, only use the telephone to report life-threatening conditions and call your out-of-town emergency contact. You may also use the “Safe and Well Registry” to communicate quickly with loved ones outside the affected counties.
• Remain calm. Pace yourself. You may find yourself in the position of taking charge of other people. Listen carefully to what people are telling you, and deal patiently with urgent situations first.
• If you had to leave your home, return only when local authorities advise that it is safe to do so. Also, be sure to have photo identification available, because sometimes local authorities will only permit people who own property in a disaster-affected area back into the area.
• Except in extreme emergencies or unless told to do so by emergency officials, avoid driving during the immediate post-disaster period. Keep roads clear for rescue and emergency vehicles. If you must drive, do not drive on roads covered with water. They could be damaged or eroded. Additionally, vehicles can begin to float in as little as six inches of water. Vehicles such as trucks and SUVs have larger tires and are more buoyant. However, even though these vehicles are heavier than a standard sedan, the buoyancy caused by the larger amount of air in their tires actually makes these vehicles more likely to float in water than smaller vehicles.
• If the disaster was widespread, listen to your radio or television station for instructions from local authorities. Information may change rapidly after a widespread disaster, so continue to listen regularly for updates. If the power is still out, listen to a battery- powered radio, television or car radio.