Four major disaster occurrences and the Spanish language media: a lack of risk communication

Abstract

Purpose – The Hispanic community is the fastest growing ethnic group in the USA and is currently the largest minority group with tremendous buying power. This trend has seen a significant growth with respect to the Spanish-language media in recent years. Along with the media ' s ability to entertain, comes the responsibility to educate and warn its audiences of eminent threats and disasters. The aim of this paper is to look at the Spanish-language media ' s efforts to warn and prepare its listeners for local and national emergencies. Design/methodology/approach – Using descriptive and explanatory methods the author looks at the failures of the Spanish language media to communicate emergency warnings in both the Saragosa, Texas tornado and in the case of hurricane Katrina. Findings – Research indicated that pressure from constituents, however, forced a change on the Spanish language industry. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited by not having first hand contact with the Spanish language media. Practical implications – The practical implication of this research which has social overtones is that providing disaster warnings to the non-English speaking population in the USA is achievable. Emergency managers and first responders need to be aware of issues regarding non-English speakers. Social implications – The implications for this research is that all individuals will be notified of emergencies even non-English speakers. Originality/value – The issues on non-English speakers in emergency situations have come up before. Nevertheless, this work identifies a practical solution by involving the Spanish language media in emergency alerts. It is essential that this tremendous resource be involved in emergency alerts.