A Child’s Health is the Public’s Health

"Preparing for unexpected events is an important part of keeping children safe and healthy all year long. Events like the spread of a serious infection, an explosion, an earthquake, or a weather event, such as a hurricane, may cause health problems for large numbers of people, and especially for children.

Children make up one in four people in the United States and they have special needs during and after emergencies. Although younger children are often more affected than adults during disasters, there are concerns for children of all ages during emergencies because

• Children may not be able to follow directions or make decisions to keep them away from danger during a disaster.
• Children’s bodies use energy quicker than adults’ do, and they need food and water more often. This means that they will absorb poisons or dangerous chemicals faster than adults will.
• Children have thinner skin and breathe faster than adults do, making them more likely to take in harmful substances through the skin or breathe them in.."
  Children's health