Examining Tornado Warning Awareness, Information Sources, and Barriers to Protective Action Among Latinx Adults in the Southeast U.S.

Background
The Southeast U.S. region is at high risk for tornado fatalities due to a combination of physical and social variables such as low visibility (e.g., harder to see tornadoes due to forest cover and occurring at night) and inadequate shelters (e.g., fewer basements and tornado shelters, a high percentage of mobile homes). Hazards are most disastrous when they intersect with socially vulnerable groups. Hazard vulnerability is considered a multi-dimensional issue that is shaped by physical, social, cultural, economic, and political factors that determine an individual’s or community’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and adapt to hazards. For the public, receiving tornado-related threat information and environmental and social cues is essential for seeking protective action during a tornado event. However, among Latinx residents, language barriers, cultural differences, and trust in public officials may inhibit the effectiveness of hazard warning communication, and place this population at risk for life-threatening situations during tornado-hazard events. Latinx populations (immigrant and native-born) are one of the fastest-growing minority populations in the Southeast, but few studies have examined how various factors interact to increase their vulnerability to harm during tornadoes. This study aimed to examine tornado warning awareness, information sources, and barriers to protective actions among Latinx adults in the Southeast, U.S.

Methods

Latinx adults age 18 and older living in the Southeast (AL, FL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, SC TN, VA, LA, and WV) who speak English or Spanish were recruited from the National Opinion Research Center's (NORC) LatinoSpeak panel. NORC uses a multistage probability sampling frame to recruit a panel that is representative of the US household population. NORC's 2,147 Latinx panelists were invited to complete the survey by telephone or Internet, and a total of 820 completed the survey for a 38.2% response rate. Responses were weighted to be representative of the region’s population based on Census data. Of these completed surveys, 820 were collected online and 8 by phone, and 625 were collected in English, and 195 in Spanish. All data analyses were conducted on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. Pearson’s chi-squares tests were used to examine awareness of the meaning of a tornado warning, preparedness, sources of severe weather information, and barriers that affect seeking protection among different demographic categories that included citizenship (U.S. citizen or non-U.S. citizen), survey language (English or Spanish), and place of birth (born in the U.S. or not born in the U.S.). In addition, odds ratios (OR) were calculated by conducting Ordered Logistic Regression to examine trust in NWS tornado warnings.

Results

Chi-square results found that participants who identified as non-U.S. citizens were more likely to misunderstand a tornado warning as a tornado watch in comparison to participants who identified as U.S. citizens (χ2(2) = 27.689, p < .001). In addition, respondents who reported they were not born in the U.S. were more likely to misunderstand a tornado warning as a tornado watch in comparison to respondents born in the U.S. (χ2(2) = 27.689, p < .001). Furthermore, Spanish speakers were more likely to misinterpret a tornado warning in comparison to English speakers (χ2(2) = 36.534, p < .001). In terms of sources of information, Spanish speakers were more likely to rely on community organizations (χ2(3) = 22.614, p < .001), on churches/faith-based leaders (χ2(3) = 14.856, p <.05) on school staff (χ2(3) = 17.347, p < .001), and on social media (χ2(3) = 14.047, <.05), than English speakers to receive weather information. In response to whether the household had an emergency plan on where to go and what to do in the event of a tornado threat, respondents born outside the U.S. were less likely to have an emergency plan for tornado threats than people born in the U.S. (χ2(3) = 18.104, p <.05). In terms of barriers to seeking protection, a lack of knowledge about what to do in the event of a tornado was reported by non-U.S. citizens more than U.S. citizens (χ2(3) = 16.416, p <.05). In addition, not having a safe shelter was more likely for Spanish-speaking respondents and lack of transportation to get to a safe shelter was more likely for Spanish-speaking respondents (χ2(3) = 8.093, p <.05) in comparison to English-speaking respondents. Finally, regression results found that non-U.S. citizens were less likely to trust National Weather Service tornado warnings compared to U.S. citizens. However, the difference was not found to be significant.

Conclusion

Examining multiple factors that may place Latinx populations at increased risk for harm during tornado hazards is important for identifying community-based practices that can enhance warning communication and protective responses. This study found various disparities encountered by Latinx populations related to tornado-warning understanding, preparedness, and barriers to seeking protection based on respondents’ citizenship, birth origin, and Spanish-speaking language. These findings emphasize the need for emergency systems to incorporate multilingual and multicultural perspectives to create a more inclusive and equitable weather-ready nation and to utilize community-based platforms (community organizations, faith-based settings, school personnel, and social media) to disseminate accurate and timely information.