Coping With Extreme Weather and Climate Disasters
Living through an extreme weather event or climate disaster can take a profound toll on mental health. These impacts may be most significant for people directly impacted, but disasters and extreme weather events can also trigger intense emotional reactions for people watching from a distance on the news or social media.
The resources below can help you cope with the mental health impacts of extreme weather events and climate disasters—and help your support your kids in coping too.
WEBSITES AND ARTICLES
- Psychiatry.org: How Extreme Weather Events Affect Mental Health
- SAMHSA: Coping Tips for Traumatic Events and Disasters
- University of California: Coping with Wildfires and Climate Change Crises
- Grist: How to Keep Kids Happy and Healthy in a Heat Emergency
- Ready.Gov: Helping Kids Cope With Disasters
- Sonoma County: Coping With Trauma and Stress in the Face of Wildfires
- Nemours: Storm Stress: Helping Kids Stay Calm
- Texas Tribune: How to Care for Your Mental Health in the Age of Climate Change and Worsening Natural Disasters
- Primrose Schools: Tips for Teaching Children About Disasters
- Red Cross: Recovering Emotionally After a Disaster
- CBC: Extreme Weather Events Can Affect Mental Health, Even from Afar
BOOKS
- Primrose Schools: Using Books to Teach Your Child About Natural Disasters
- Books to Help Children Cope With Disasters (longer list of books)
- There Was a Hurricane, by Rachel Jamieson and Karin Erickson (digital book about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene; for younger children)
- Alicia and the Hurricane: A Story of Puerto Rico, by Leslea Newman and Elizabeth Erazo Baz (bilingual English/Spanish; ages 4-8)
- The Longest Storm, by Dan Yaccarino (ages 4-8)
- A Flood of Kindness, by Ellen Leventhal and Blythe Russo (ages 5-8)
- What to Do When Climate Change Scares You: A Kid’s Guide to Dealing With Climate Change Stress, by Leslie Davenport (ages 6-12)
- Out of the Fires: A Journal of Resilience and Recovery After Disaster, by Carrie Lara and Collen Larmour (ages 8-12)
OTHER RESOURCES
- iChill app from the Trauma Resource Institute (free app that guides you through tools that can help you reset when feeling distressed; available in multiple languages)
- Help Kids Cope app from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (free app to support parents in talking to kids about a range of extreme weather events/disasters)
- Disaster Master from Ready.Gov (online game for helping children learn how to be prepared for various forms of extreme weather)
CRISIS SUPPORT
- If you have been affected by a disaster, such as a wildfire or hurricane, the multilingual National Disaster Distress Helpline can provide immediate crisis counseling and referral support. Call or text 1-800-985-5990 or visit samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline.
- If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or know someone else who is, please reach out to the multilingual National Suicide & Crisis Hotline by calling 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org.
Updated: December 2024