It's been nearly two months since Hurricane Helene devastated communities across the southeast.

And experts say the storm's effects on children might last for years to come.

Ali Rogan has more.

Tens of thousands of children and young adults have dealt with disruptions at home and school following

Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Researchers from Boston College found up to 70% of students

could show symptoms of PTSD in the first three months following such disasters.

Lori Peake is the director of the Natural Hazard Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

She studies how children and socially marginalized populations fare after disasters.

Lori, thank you so much for being here.

What are the recovery processes for children after they've gone through a hurricane like this?

There is actually no one single trajectory that children follow after a disaster. their recovery is influenced by multiple factors.

How much damage their community, their school, their homes sustained, how disrupted their

lives are in the aftermath of the disaster, how much social support they receive.

But the good news is that we do have good information about what can help children to recover

after a disaster and to get them back into a stable routine, back into school, back into a better

situation even after a catastrophic event like Helene or Milton.

And what are some of those strategies that can help children get back on track?

So some of the things that really help children in the aftermath of disaster include getting

back into a routine. And that can be a really hard thing when a home is damaged or destroyed,

when a school is closed for a period of time, when parents have lost work, or when there's

other disruption around the children, also providing social support to children and ensuring that

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