The Gulf Coast region suffered an unusually severe hurricane season in 2005: Hurricane Katrina (August 28-29, 2005) devastated much of southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Approximately 2,700 licensed early care and education facilities in those states and in Alabama were affected by Katrina, in addition to an unknown number of family child care homes. The Petal Parenting Center in Petal, Mississippi, although nearly 100 miles inland, was so severely damaged by wind and rain that the local health department ordered it to be closed. Nadine Coleman, MEd, director of the Petal Parenting Center, talked with "Zero to Three" in December 2005 about the aftermath of the storm and the lessons learned about preparing to serve the needs of very young children and their caregivers during emergencies.