The Biden Administration is pushing for Latinos to be better prepared for natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
Why it matters: A large percentage of Latinos live in the Southwest, where wildfires hit annually, and along hurricane-prone areas like Florida and North Carolina. But until a couple of years ago, the federal government didn’t have enough materials targeting Latinos about potential disasters.
- Experts say Latinos are less likely to be prepared for a disaster than other groups. This worries experts, especially after many cities this summer saw record-high temperatures, which is attributable to human-caused climate change.
- Only 38 percent of Latino households in Los Angeles County reported having a disaster plan, the lowest of any ethnic or racial group, according to the county Department of Public Health’s Community Health Assessment.
Details: Beginning in 2021, the administration started developing more Spanish-language content and culturally relevant materials around disasters, Justin Ángel Knighten, FEMA’s director of the office of external affairs, tells Axios Latino.
- That work has increased in recent months with added content on the Spanish-language website listo.gov, which launched in 2023, and with new educational outreach efforts all around the country.
- “FEMA needed to listen to the information of who wasn’t getting prepared, who were being disproportionately impacted, and really transformed the way that we’re preparing the nation,” Knighten says.
The big picture: Latinos have been disproportionately affected by disasters like the 2022 Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico, which destroyed some historic Hispanic enclaves and left some ranchers injured.
- A study of the 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Houston found that floods from the storm hit Hispanics the hardest.
Between the lines: Officials worry that Latinos aren’t heeding or don’t fully understand evacuation orders, Knighten says.
- He says the Biden administration is pushing an educational campaign about the importance of being prepared for disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes and floods.
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