Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Photo: Tim Wimborne / Reuters Pictures: Unable to find refuge in a crowded emergency shelter in Cairns, a man feeds his baby outside.

Still reeling from massive floods, Queensland now finds itself engulfed in another extreme weather event: Cyclone Yasi made landfall along the state's far north coast on Wednesday‚ the most savage storm to hit the region in nearly a century.

Winds of 285 kilometers per hour (177 mph) drove ocean surges in the Category 5 storm, placing 75,000 people in a danger zone that stretched 650 kilometers (404 miles), from Port Douglas to the town of Bowen, The Australian newspaper reported.

One caller to ABC TV described the town of Innisfail as "looking like napalm has been sprayed over it." Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has cautioned people that the cyclone and following water surge will continue to be dangerous for three days after Yasi passes.

The onslaught of catastrophic weather events Australia has endured in recent years – the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that spawned the Boxing Day tsunami, the 2006 Category 4-Cyclone Larry, the 2009 bushfires and the 2010 Queensland floods – has honed crisis reporting to a high art. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's minute-to-minute updates online, on radio and via Twitter have set an industry standard. Local and regional news organizations also have distinguished themselves.

But as the winds abate, victims will move from rescue to the crucial recovery phase, the point at which those severely traumatized by the experience of multiple catastrophes demand a journalist's special awareness. And news professionals themselves are vulnerable, as they enter another cycle of long, uncomfortable days in the field, absorbing the physical and emotional impact of reporting on human tragedies great and small.

From the Dart Centre archives, psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, M.D., offers sage advice to journalists in the field, newsroom managers and the public at large on the risk of re-traumatization from multiple catastrophic events:

When Mother Nature hurls a cyclone at the same survivors of last year's storm, we can expect three negative effects among those most vulnerable:

Anticipatory anxiety will be high among those who were most emotionally damaged by the last hurricane. Instead of (or in addition to) post-traumatic stress disorder, they will have pre-traumatic stress disorder. This consists of dread, physical symptoms, concentration problems, insomnia and irritability.

Depression and demoralization can be expected throughout the hurricane's advance and particularly if it strikes a severe blow. The symptoms include helplessness, worthlessness, hopelessness and lethargy.

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) can combine elements of the last hurricane with images, sounds and fears associated with the current storm. Treatment will have to include attention to both sets of traumatic events.

So how do we best prepare for the emotional impact?

First, we recognize who is at risk. We try to de-stigmatize conversations among family members, students, friends and co-workers so that those who will have a likelihood of disabling symptoms are not burdened with excessive responsibility and are given the help they need.

Second, we identify those who are emotionally resilient and we enlist their aid in doing more, understanding more, and picking up the slack. We must be very careful about assuming we can handle stress disorders if we cannot. This is a time for honest self-appraisal.

Third, we set up systems to help the helpers. Most relief agencies have learned a lot about secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious victimization and doing what is needed when helping hurts the helper. See www.ptsdinfo.org for articles and resources.

When my patients call, sometimes years later, to describe a recurrence of PTSD, they usually feel unlucky, unable to cope, and they say, "I'm back to square one." It is as though all they learned about overcoming traumatic stress has vanished. The cause is usually a second trauma, but it may be a physical illness or a prolonged misfortune that falls short of the kind of trauma that causes PTSD.

I review the progress they made before this happened. I search with them for sources of self-confidence. I remind them of their skills in surviving and coping. And I let them know that PTSD is real and it cannot be wished away. They may need more therapy. They may need medication, but I never assume that. They always need understanding and supportive friends.

Journalists can help communities cope by identifying resources for those who are at risk, and by emphasizing coping strategies that help individuals and groups weather storm after storm after storm. Life is storm after storm after storm, with calm days in between.