Lots of good observations here - especially keep it simple. Kids are supervised most of their waking hours by adults and older kids, there's not alot of reason to divert from that caretaker role with kids and disasters. They function best when in groups of kids with adults along (despite appearances). If you watch a fire or EQ drill, they move out the door, duck, dive etc just fine, and if their precious little attention spans work, they'll do the same in the event of an emergency. As parents, the Japan EQ is probably an opportunity to remind them to pay attention to the teacher during their safety drills, to listen carefully, and cooperate and follow directions, for everyone's safety. That's probably all they need. We drill to embed how we want people to react in a real emergency.

I encounter kids who have been through disasters about every other day lately, mostly house and apartment fires. Often they were woken up, pulled from bed, and hustled out of their homes to safety. Then in a matter of minutes, their rooms, clothing, toys, Nintendos and every bit of their life has been reduced to ashes, and their new reality is a hotel room and bag of belongings, if they are lucky to have that. That rapid change of circumstances requires some monitoring, especially of younger kids. The smoke and fire itself can be especially traumatic. The favorite animal or blanket, sometimes a family pet, may not be there anymore. Parents and maybe a mental health provider will have to spend some time talking them through their experiences, getting them back to okay. At the Red Cross, since I deal mainly with weekend and after hours calls, we treat it with a teddy bear, and hope that parents and other providers can pick up on these issues. Kids I see haven't fully processed everything from their own disaster yet, but I know they are amazingly resilient if supported and encouraged to deal with things.