Improving Tornado Warning Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Audiences

Abstract

Although specialized personal and residential Deaf warning technologies exist, receipt and comprehension of tornado warning information from local television is often delayed or misunderstood because of closed-captioning deficiencies. In order to suggest improvements for the communication of tornado warnings to Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HoH) audiences, interviews and a focus group were conducted within the active tornado counties of Alabama. D/HoH individuals generally use more information sources than the hearing population to better understand their risk. Protective action decision-making by our sample was characterized by more hesitation, uncertainty, and indecision than in the hearing population. The most common suggestion for improving tornado-warning communication was to have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter shown on screen with a local television meteorologist during a tornado warning. A split-screen television product with an ASL interpreter in a remote studio was prototyped showing that this type of live broadcast is possible for local tornado-warning coverage. Several screen formats were evaluated by a focus group with the conclusion that the ASL interpreter should be on the left side of the screen without obscuring any part of the weather broadcast. The split-screen product with an ASL interpreter resulted in full access to all broadcast information, the ability to make immediate safety decisions, and was welcomed with excitement by the focus-group participants. This modification, along with the education and preparedness efforts of the National Weather Service, help remedy the information gaps and comprehension delays of this underserved population.