Communication Challenges: Coastal Stakeholders and Climate Tools

Coastal Louisiana is a region that experiences many hazardous weather events. A typical year will produce hurricanes, storm surge, heavy rainfall, flooding, tornadoes, and other damaging meteorological events. Louisiana is extremely vulnerable to these events due to sea level rise and land subsidence. With this likelihood for weather crises, coastal Louisiana is an ideal location to study the communication of potential weather hazards. Information about these hazards are displayed as climate tools, which are charts and graphs depicting meteorological information. Emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists use these climate tools to gather information and communicate risk to the public. Broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers were interviewed across the Southern Louisiana region to discuss training and understanding, audience comprehension, communication challenges with their audience, and tools used to communicate. Results from these interviews will give us a better understanding of communication challenges between stakeholders and the public, as well as enhance decision-making.