Ethnicity and Minority Status Effects on Preparedness

Social and Economic Conditions

Social and economic indicators associated with minority status—such as poverty, housing conditions, employment status, and social supports—can have a profound influence on the preparedness of racially and ethnically diverse communities. Minorities living in poverty often do not regard disaster preparedness as a priority, especially if they are faced with more immediate personal disasters such as environmental toxins and daily concerns related to survival, crime, violence, or health conditions. In addition, low-income and poor racial and ethnic minorities frequently lack sufficient financial resources to take protective measures such as purchasing home or renter's insurance, making structural changes to the home to minimize damage, stockpiling emergency supplies, and having access to reliable transportation for evacuation.

Segregated residential patterns and substandard housing conditions, often inherent in poor minority communities, also make these populations disproportionately more susceptible. For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit, the Lower Ninth Ward—the lowest-lying area of New Orleans, Louisiana and most at risk for flooding—had a 98 percent African American population. When the Northridge Earthquake struck California on January 17, 1994, it largely affected regions populated by low-income Latino farm workers, many of whom were confined to substandard, unsafe housing and experienced greater material loss and homelessness than the white majority or more affluent communities.

Efforts to improve the preparedness of minorities, particularly the poor and low income demographic, require the development of programs and policies that reach deep into the social, economic, and political structures of communities. Examples include programs to improve low-income housing, expand low-wage employment opportunities, improve public transportation systems, and expand access to essential health services to help mitigate the disproportionately adverse effects faced by these populations in disasters.

Cultural and Linguistic Barriers

Culture and language proficiency largely influence how individuals perceive and prepare for threats prior to a disaster, and how they respond and cope in the aftermath. In the pre-disaster phase, culture largely shapes attitudes toward disasters and information-seeking behaviors of racial and ethnic minorities, which may differ from the mainstream. Many minority communities, for example, prefer to rely on family, friends, and social networks for disaster information, as opposed to educational materials and public announcements. [Page 176][Page 177]Such information-seeking preferences impact protective behaviors and actions among minorities, including decisions related to evacuation.

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