Identifying Barriers and Resources for Equitable Tornado Warning Systems within Latinx/e Communities in the Southeast

Background
Prior research has found that Latinx/e populations encounter various social, cultural, and political barriers that increase their vulnerability to harm during severe weather events. Efforts to alleviate vulnerabilities and reduce harm for marginalized communities requires establishing relationships with trusted messengers in the community and addressing their needs. Multiple studies have highlighted the need for NWS offices to integrate and partner with local Latinx/e community organizations and leaders to further culturally and linguistically appropriate risk communication strategies. Working in collaboration with Latinx/e leaders and an NWS office in the Southeast U.S., this case study provides contextual research into identified barriers and resources to enhance tornado warning communication and protective responses for Latinx/e communities.

Methods
Two focus groups were held, one with National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office staff (n = 6) and one with Latinx leaders (n = 5) in a Southeastern, metropolitan city. Each focus group session asked questions related to tornado warning communication needs, barriers, and resources for Latinx/e populations and lasted about 90 minutes. Sessions were audio recorded and transcribed, and data analysis using NVivo software included descriptive coding, interpretive coding, and thematic analysis techniques. To ensure the credibility and accuracy of the findings, member checking was conducted with all focus group participants. This involved holding an additional meeting where the research team shared the preliminary analyses and interpretations of the data with the participants to verify that their perspectives and experiences were accurately represented and to provide any additional feedback.

Results
Focus group findings revealed multiple themes related to barriers and resources for equitable tornado warning systems within Latinx/communities in the Southeast. Latinx/e leaders noted that knowledge of tornado risk and response varied among community members, with younger generations often being more informed due to school education and drills. Latinx/e leaders also highlighted the community’s reliance on informal information sources such as social media and word-of- mouth communication by trusted sources and emphasized the need for accurate and accessible Spanish-language tornado risk information and cultural sensitivity in communication strategies. For instance, leaders emphasized how cultural differences may influence the Latinx/e community’s responses to tornado warnings, citing examples around the mistrust or misunderstanding of warning systems, such as sirens. One participant noted that there may be a sense of fear around sirens due to limited prior exposure to these alert systems alongside fear and skepticism toward governmental authorities. Suggested resources included developing trusted collaborations with local Latinx/e organizations and leveraging social and traditional media sources for outreach in Spanish.

In the NWS focus group, participants also identified multiple barriers. These barriers included staffing challenges to providing Spanish-language weather information, lack of Spanish-speaking staff, organizational priorities, and lack of established partnerships with the local Latinx/e community. NWS staff also expressed a strong desire to build partnerships but noted encountering challenges due to insufficient existing relationships with the Latinx/e community, a lack of community-building expertise, and their regular work-load requirements. Suggested improvements from the NWS focus group centered on continued efforts towards building partnerships with local Latinx/e community leaders, networking with Spanish-language media outlets, hiring dedicated communications staff and community liaisons who are proficient in Spanish, and providing accessible digital information resources in multiple languages, including Spanish. NWS participants also emphasized the need for more top-down dedicated funding and resources to enhance tornado warning reception and response efforts among Latinx/e communities.

Conclusion
Historically, the approach to communicating hazard risk has been one-way with technical experts sending messages to the public, with the goal of the public taking the expert’s recommendations and changing their behavior and actions. The current study provides knowledge into barriers and resources perceived by Latinx/e leaders and NWS staff in communicating tornado hazard risk within Latinx/e populations in the Southeast. These findings provide implications for building bi-directional hazard warning communication systems within Latinx/e communities and other historically marginalized populations.