The toll of last week's tornado on school students in Moore, Oklahoma, cannot be overstated. Two schools in the Oklahoma City suburb—along with a hospital and countless homes—were destroyed. Tragically, seven of the 24 people killed in the storm were elementary school students. Now those who survived the storm must deal with the emotional effects of the traumatic experience.
Along with December's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Moore tornado is the second tragedy in recent memory that left a community scrambling for ways to help its young schoolchildren and their families cope with the trauma.
Nothing will undo the human loss caused by these events, and reconstruction in Moore will take time.
To assist with recovery, RAND's CBITS program offers resources on psychological first aid for schools, as well as additional materials for educators and parents, including a list of games to play with kids when there is no electricity, an extensive guide for tornado-specific recovery activities, and much more.
— Pete Wilmoth
