Making hurricane prep and recovery more equitable

Hurricane season begins on June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a strong likelihood that the next seven months will bring an above-average number of tropical storms and hurricanes in 2022. According to NOAA, it’s the seventh consecutive above-normal season.

It’s impossible to know exactly how many there will be in a given season, or where they’ll hit. But we do know they will disproportionately impact low-wealth communities, communities of color, renters, the elderly and disabled, and other historically underserved and oppressed people. 

Advocates across the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts have spent months preparing for what may come. They’re working in communities often failed by federal and state agencies—communities still recovering from storms that stretch back one, two, even five years: Laura, Delta, Ida, Florence, Harvey, and Michael. 

Southerly works with community partners to determine information needs, creates resources and stories online and offline, and distributes them through trusted on-the-ground networks.

• Investigations into the housing crisis in Lake Charles after Hurricane Laura
• A printed mental health guide in collaboration with local clinics
• A disaster glossary
• A survey of communities so media can better serve them
• Workshops where residents are paid to attend and help create fact sheets for elected officials.