May 22 - July 28
Comparing Severe Weather Communication, Awareness, and Response between non-Hispanic and Hispanic Communities
Alexis Rodriguez, Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, Justin Reedy, and América Gaviria Pabón
What is already known:
- Hispanic communities, especially foreign-born immigrants, are vulnerable to severe weather hazards due to inequities in severe weather communication.
- Common barriers for Hispanic communities include language and cultural background.
- Hispanic immigrant communities are not as equally served in weather hazard communication compared to non-Hispanic whites and U.S. born Hispanics.
What this study adds:
- Analyzing awareness between non-Hispanic and Hispanic people will expand on what communication techniques are best to utilize.
- U.S. regions based on the National Weather Service standards support analysis of severe weather response.
- Improving our understanding of Hispanic communities’ interpretation of severe weather communication will lead to saving more lives.
Abstract:
Studies have shown that Hispanic communities who speak Spanish as their primary language are more vulnerable to severe weather hazards due to inequities, such as language and cultural background barriers. Such studies include examining relevant severe weather events, such as tornadoes in Hispanic territory, to search for common themes related to vulnerability. A few gaps still exist on which techniques to best use for effective communication, such as choice of wording to define a severe weather watch or warning. To examine severe weather awareness and response between Hispanic and non-Hispanic communities, a mixed methods approach will be used in a nationwide survey, in English and Spanish versions. The collected data will then be transferred into a statistical analysis in a computer application. Three survey questions will be examined: the understanding of severe weather watches and warnings, the reliability of weather information resources, and the level of agreement to the response of issued warnings. Combining both surveys, Hispanic immigrants exhibited lower understanding and less response to issued warnings, especially those who are foreign-born. The Hispanic population is projected to continue growing, for which efforts must be done to focus on the cultural diversity within the group. Analysis of evolving technology will be relevant for future studies to provide efficient and effective communication.