Snapshot From Superstorm Sandy American Red Cross Mental Health Risk Surveillance in Lower New York State Editor’s Capsule Summary

Red Cross disaster mental health volunteers used an evidence-based tool called PsySTART to collect data on risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety among survivors at shelters, emergency aid stations, and mobile feeding and community outreach centers. They found 17,979 risk factors, with significant differences across survivors in eight counties. They also found survivors with high risk in areas apart from those with the greatest physical damage.