EMERGENCY ALERT
Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida, where residents were already reeling from Hurricane Helene, which impacted multiple states, including Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina. Millions of families are without power and dealing with severe damage to homes, schools and childcare centers. Working with partners, we're ensuring families have the essential items they need and are focused on helping kids get back to learning as quickly as possible.
Save the Children protects kids in the United States when disasters like Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton strike. Your donation to the Children's Emergency Fund today can help save lives.
Save the Children Responding to Hurricane Helene
In the aftermath of both Hurricane Helene, Save the Children and partners are immediately responding to the needs of families in Florida, North and South Carolina and Tennessee, where communities sustained significant damage. The Children’s Emergency Fund has been activated to support the following response activities:
Distributing essential items such as hygiene kits, cleaning supplies, diapers, wipes and more to families impacted by the storm.
Providing emergency grants to damaged child care centers to ensure their immediate and long-term recovery so families can get back to work and children are safe.
Protecting the well-being of children and those who care for them through mental health and psychosocial support programs and training.
Save the Children has been supporting children’s most critical needs in emergencies along the Gulf Coast since 2005, including Hurricanes Ian, Irma, Michael, Idalia and Beryl. We are leaders when it comes to responding to the specific needs of children and families after a disaster through coordinating emergency distributions of child-centric supplies, supporting the recovery of child care centers, and provides mental health support programs to help children and their families cope and build resilience.
As the climate crisis intensifies the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and coastal areas become more populated, millions of children in storm-prone areas face increased risks like floods, landslides, damage to homes and schools, heightened exposure to disease, and even death.
Your donation to the Children’s Emergency Fund can support those impacted by hurricanes and other crises impacting children in the U.S.
10 Hurricane Safety Tips
Save the Children’s emergency response experts have compiled ways to stay safe during a hurricane to help protect your children from distress during and after disasters.
- Talk to your children about hurricanes. Explain to your child what could happen in the event of a hurricane, using simple, age-appropriate words. Outline a family emergency plan for hurricanes, with an evacuation plan and meeting location and emphasize that their safety is your utmost priority.
- Prepare a “to-go bag” for each child in the family ahead of time. The bag should contain essential personal items, including:
Contact and medical information
A flashlight with extra batteries
A favorite stuffed animal or comfort item
A blanket
Hygiene supplies including a toothbrush, comb and washcloth
Hand sanitizer, or bar or liquid soap
Two cloth face coverings for each child above the age of two
- Practice evacuation drills. Once you’ve created your hurricane evacuation plan and talked with your children about it, it’s time to practice. Be sure to run through different scenarios – at home, at school and at other places you visit often (like a grandparent’s house, or a second home). When planning your evacuation route, remember that bridges may be washed out and low-lying areas may be flooded.
- Learn your child’s school or child care disaster plans. If your child attends school, daycare or an after-school program, ask for the facility’s hurricane emergency plan. Learn their procedures for evacuation, notifying parents and if there is an alternate pick up location.
- Evacuate if instructed to do so. If you are instructed to evacuate by local authorities – or if you feel unsafe – you should follow CDC recommendations for how to stay safe and healthy in a public setting or shelter.
- Stay indoors, if not evacuated. If you aren’t advised to evacuate, or are unable to do so safely, stay indoors, away from windows, skylights and doors. Continue to monitor weather reports and don’t go outside until the storm has passed. Downed trees, live electrical wires and other hazards can crop up unexpectedly.
- Keep routines. Children experience comfort from rituals and routines, like a story before bedtime or a family meal each evening. If at all possible, keep these routines.
- Role model and listen. Remember, children look to you and pick up on your moods and cues. Let your children know that it’s okay to be sad, but do your best to reassure them that they’re safe.
Although the dangers of a hurricane are very real, your child’s fears may be out of proportion or unrealistic. Take the time to talk to them and hear their concerns.
- Limit media. Even the mildest of storms can be sensationalized on news and weather channels. Children of all ages can be disturbed by intense images online and on TV, so monitor their media intake.
- Watch your child for changes in behavior, sleeping patterns, or eating habits. Children may be afraid or anxious for a while after the hurricane. If changes in behavior do happen, they will likely lessen within a short time. However, if they continue, you should seek professional help and counseling
Hurricanes, Cyclones and Typhoons: What's the Difference?
Hurricanes, tropical cyclones and typhoons are all destructive windstorms but are called different things based on their geographic location.
The term ‘hurricane’ is used in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific oceans. In the Northwest Pacific Ocean, we use the term ‘typhoons,’ while the term ‘tropical cyclone’ refers to the South Pacific and Indian oceans.
Hurricanes can cause widespread damage and impact communities for years to come.
2025 Hurricane Names
Hurricane Andrea | Hurricane Lorenzo |
What is the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning?
- A hurricane watch indicates there’s a threat of hurricane or tropical storm conditions within 48 hours.
- A hurricane warning means a hurricane or tropical storm is expected within 36 hours or less.
- A tropical storm or hurricane statement is issued every 2-3 hours by your local National Weather Service (NWS) office. It will summarize all of the watches and warnings, evacuation info and most immediate threats to the area.
Our History of Hurricane Response & Disaster Relief
When crisis strikes, children are always among the most vulnerable. That’s why Save the Children has been on the ground, protecting America’s children, in every major disaster since Hurricane Katrina.
Thanks to the support of our donors, our response teams and supplies hit the road before disaster strikes, to help keep children and families safe. We get parents the essential items they need to continue to care for their children, make sure evacuation shelters are safe and supportive to children and families’ unique needs.
We’re also there for the long term, restoring child care centers and preschools – and restarting afterschool and summer programs – so kids can get back to learning and parents can get back to work. Plus, our social and emotional recovery programs, including. Journey of Hope and. HEART (Healing and Education Through the Arts), help children and caregivers understand and cope with the fear and loss that can come in the wake of a disaster.
Hurricane Helene: How to Help Children Impacted by Crisis
Together, we can ensure no child is left behind in an emergency, reaching the most vulnerable whenever and wherever they need us. With help from supporters like you, Save the Children will be there to help families and communities recover from Hurricane Helene and other emergencies in the U.S.
Through our Children’s Emergency Fund we can prepare better, respond faster, and protect longer, so that we’re there to help children when they need it most. Your donation today supports this life-saving work.