National Hispanic Heritage Month - Creating Relevant Messaging to Help Prepare for Disasters

Hurricane Maria brought untold devastation to the island of Puerto Rico, leaving behind nearly $90 billion in damage and upending the lives of thousands in its wake. FEMA and the entire federal government learned many lessons from this tragedy, but chief among them is that the Latino community are on the frontlines of climate change and associated extreme weather events. 

The growing severity and frequency of disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding continue to threaten the way of life for communities nationwide. An analysis of federal disaster declarations found that “nearly 1-in-3 Americans experienced a weather disaster” in the summer of 2021 alone, which is even more alarming when you also consider the most socially vulnerable groups face these threats disproportionately.

The Latino community is the fastest-growing demographic in the nation, which highlights the urgency of this crisis and the important work emergency managers must do to reach this group.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Latinos are 43% more likely to live in areas where they are unable to work due to “to climate-driven increases in high-temperature days.” Echoing this reality is the shared sentiment by more than 70% of Latino adults who believe that climate change is affecting their community, according to Pew Research. 

FEMA’s mission to help people before, during, and after disasters requires us to do everything within our power to reach all the communities we serve. This means our agency must develop messaging that is both accessible and culturally competent for specific communities, in ways that are relevant to their own lived experiences. We need a government-based campaign that resonates with the community.

To enhance FEMA’s Ready and Listo disaster preparedness campaigns, we provide high-quality, researched-based public service announcements (PSAs) that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and targeted to this often-overlooked community to counteract some of the concerns they hold.

Our research discovered some Latinos are more likely to prepare for a disaster when they are urged to remember and plan for the safety and emotional well-being of not only their lives, but also for their families. Additionally, the analysis found that some in the community see themselves as resilient and natural planners, planning for events such as births, family dinners or a quinceañera. 

FEMA’s Latino employee resource group reviewed this data and offered feedback on our messaging, representing the first time an agency engaged its workforce in this way. This work led to the “Prepare to Protect” PSAs in Spanish and English. (more about the campaign) Thanks to this campaign, the Listo.gov—the Spanish version of Ready.gov—had a 500% increase in visits to the “ Haga un Plan” page and a 400% increase in visits to the “Prepare un Kit” page. 

These are the first of many steps to strengthen the ways our agency and the federal government engages every community it serves. We will continue to do this important work to ensure that all individuals – including the Latino and other historically underserved communities – are prepared before disaster strikes.  

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This blog was adapted from an article by FEMA’s Office of External Affairs Director Justin Ángel Knighten in the March 15, 2023, issue of the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy.