The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) has been selected through a competitive grant competition to receive federal funding to support a project to help coastal communities prepare for, respond to and recover from natural or human-caused disasters.
The project, “Enhancing Capacity for Risk Communication in Vietnamese-American Communities,” is one of four projects the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and the National Sea Grant College Program anticipate funding with a combined total of $791,395 for all projects.
This risk communication project, led by MASGC Coastal Resilience Lead Tracie Sempier, MASGC Outreach and Deputy Director Steve Sempier and Boat People SOS-Gulf Coast Branch Manager Jane Nguyen, will address risk communication gaps in Vietnamese-American communities in the northern Gulf (Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi). The project will work to improve communities’ abilities to manage impacts from natural and human-caused disasters. It also will increase awareness among weather communicators about the language and cultural barriers Vietnamese-American communities face. The project team will develop and share strategies to effectively address gaps in weather communication efforts.
“Boat People SOS has expressed the need for severe weather information to be available in Vietnamese as there are currently no radio or TV stations that broadcast in their native language,” Tracie Sempier said. “For those with limited English proficiency, it can be difficult to know what actions to take to protect families and property leading up to a storm event. Having pre-storm social media infographics translated in Vietnamese would greatly improve the ability of community members to take action. By working together, we can address some of these risk communication gaps and in turn save lives and aid in preparation and recovery efforts.”
According to U.S. Census American Community Survey (2022), there are approximately 50,000 Vietnamese-Southeast Asian residents in Mississippi (7,971), Alabama (10,609) and Louisiana (30,544). Boat People SOS is a nonprofit organization that provides services to Vietnamese Americans, refugees and immigrants in the United States. The New Orleans and Mobile National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices serve the largest Vietnamese-American populations in the northern Gulf.
Understanding needs and developing a plan
This project will include a leadership team with representatives from NOAA National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices in New Orleans and Mobile, Boat People SOS, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, media and local government. First steps will include conducting a needs assessment to identify what partners, such as weather communicators and public authorities, need, what Vietnamese-American community members think about availability and accessibility of information, and ways they prefer to receive information. Two Boat People SOS employees, one in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and one in Biloxi, Mississippi, will work with the New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, weather forecasting offices. Project leaders will then create a plan to address the needs identified in the assessment.
Developing and disseminating products and services
This project also will develop and disseminate products and services aimed at filling the needs identified in the assessment. Some possible examples include translating existing products (such as infographics) into Vietnamese and creating Vietnamese-language products, such as short videos and live captioning or live translation in newscasts. It also will identify and share strategies to help weather communicators overcome language barriers.
MASGC is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states. Sea Grant programs encourage the wise stewardship of marine resources through research, education, engagement and technology transfer.
Meet the author
Melissa Schneider
Communications Coordinator
Melissa Schneider coordinates public information, educational media and communication services for Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. Some of MASGC's communications projects include our website, social... Read more
Phone: 228-818-8838
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