2 of 18

Tornadoes

A violently rotating column of air touching the ground
Nature’s most violent storms

Wind speeds up to 300mph
Hail, debris
Damage paths= excess of 1 mile wide and 50 miles long

Immeasurable fatalities, injuries, and destruction in a matter of seconds
U.S. experiences 1,200 tornadoes a year
Tornadic events documented in all 50 states

(U.S. Department of Commerce, 2015)

(Severe Weather 101, n.d.)

A tornado can be simply defined as “a violently rotating column of air touching the ground”. However, that definition doesn’t even begin to encapsulate everything a tornado is. It wouldn’t be a stretch to label tornadoes as one of nature’s most violent storms. Tornadoes can generate wind speeds of up to 300mph. Severe hailstorms can accompany a tornado. The debris swept up by a tornado can turn into lethal projectiles. Tornadoes can create a damage path anywhere from an excess of 1 mile wide to 50 miles long. With all of these factors, it makes sense that a single tornado can produce immeasurable fatalities, injuries, and destruction in just a matter of seconds. The U.S. experiences about 1,200 tornadoes a year. While a majority of these storms are concentrated in Tornado Alley, tornadic events have been documented in all 50 states, thus it is crucial for everyone to prepare for tornadoes.

3 of 18

General Public Preparedness Tips

Identify a predetermined safe space

Access to head and neck coverings for protection

Vehicle:

Do NOT try to out-drive it
Do NOT seek shelter under an overpass or bridge

Supply Bag

Tornado Watch vs. Tornado Warning

Georgia Storm Troopers
LiveSafe
FOX 5 Atlanta
WSB-TV

Signs of Tornado:

Freight train like roar
Rotating funnel shaped cloud
An approaching cloud of debris

4 of 18

Vulnerable Population

Our vulnerable population is the deaf/hard-of-hearing population in the state of Georgia.

According to the CDC, around 6% of adults in Georgia have a hearing disability.

When designing a communication plan for our vulnerable population, it is important to consider “Who is the expert?”

In our case, the opinions of deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals can give us an insight into the methods that they receive weather alerts and the methods that they believe should/can be improved.

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021)

5 of 18

Deaf Population Preparedness Tips

Deaf population can’t hear sirens or “train-like” sounds of increased winds for tornado
Visual signs of tornado formation
Designated safe space
Protective Gear
Supply kit/bag
Technology Based Communication methods in the deaf community:

Texting
Facetime/Video Chat
Video Relay Services
TTY Calls/Messaging
Weather Specific - None
Smart Watch Safety Features/Alerts

6 of 18

What communication needs to be improved?

A survey was conducted in Talladega and Birmingham, Alabama on deaf/hard of hearing individuals on the different methods that they receive alerts, and the pros and cons of these methods

The top three responses to the “Preferred way of receiving tornado warning information?”

TV news (30%)
Phone apps (19%),
Phone alerts/SMS messages (14%)

The top three responses to “Barriers for receiving tornado warning information?”

No internet (17%)
Inaccessible audible warnings (17%)
No or poor captions (17%)

The top three responses for “What do you want meteorologists/National Weather Service to know about deaf people to improve communication?”

To have an interpreter (26%)
That phone alerts work best (17%)
To improve captions (17%)

(Senkbeil et al., 2021)

7 of 18

Campaign

Our group is acting as advocates for the deaf community in Georgia

Letter to the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GCDHH)

“Establishing and maintaining a network of statewide services for the deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf blind, and other individuals and groups”

Several implementation proposals:

Phones/smartwatches
Weather radios
News media reform
Buddy System Initiative

Convince GCDHH to partner with us as an advocacy group and help implement these proposals

(Deaf, hard of hearing or hearing disabilities, n.d.).

To give a little background into our campaign, our group is acting as advocates for the deaf community in Georgia. For our campaign, we are writing a letter to the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. We are writing to the GCDHH to ask them to consider partnering with us. The Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing’s mission statement is“establishing and maintaining a network of statewide services for the deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf blind, and other individuals and groups”; this is the primary reason we selected this organization as a potential partner, because our group is also interested in providing assistance to the deaf on a statewide level as it pertains to natural disasters, specifically tornadoes. Within our letter to the GCDHH, we outline several strategies to benefit the deaf community that we believe the GCDHH could help us implement. These strategies include phones/smartwatches, weather radios, news media reform, and the buddy system initiative, all of which will be explained in further detail in the coming slides.

8 of 18

Teletypewriter Keyboards (TTY)

Turn voice phone calls into typed messages
There is a full keyboard for typing messages/responses
These messages appear on the other end of the line in real time
Subtitle TTYS lack the full keyboard and have only live subtitles of what the caller is saying
Landline versions aren’t portable
Portable bluetooth and audio jack versions exist for cell phones
Smart phones have a built in TTY software

TTY VCO - Deaf users who can speak but need the other party’s communications as text
Full TTY - Deaf users who may have a speech impairment and need to both send and receive messages as type

Texting is very similar but TTY is instant communication and texts can be delayed

9 of 18

New Phone Alert System Idea:

Most phones brands have a “flash alert” setting for notifications
Problem?

It flashes for all alerts (texts, calls, facebook/instagram likes...etc.)
No differentiation between these and a severe weather alert

Our Solution:

Separate “Flash for Severe Weather Alerts” toggle switch

10 of 18

iPhone Version

Samsung Version

Accessibility Settings new alert option sample photos

11 of 18

Add bright high-visibility color
Add vibration (haptics) to alert

Smart Watches Alerts

Not very different from other alerts

12 of 18

Weather Radios

Silent Call Midland Alert Weather Radio

Benefits:

In the event of a tornado, radio is activated with a loud tone, LED light, and alert message on LCD display
Bed-shaking feature
S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) feature
Portable (small as an alarm clock)

GCDHH has the Federal Communications Commission Grant (supply deaf individuals with access to devices that aid in internet/communication services)

75 Silent Call Midland Alert Weather Radios with the Strobe package
113 Silent Call Weather Radios with the Bed-Shaker package

(Midland, n.d.)

(Federal Communications Commission, 2020)

The weather radio strategy could help thousands of deaf individuals be more aware of tornado hazards. In this part of the letter, we are asking the GCDHH to help us supply deaf individuals in Georgia with a Silent Call Midland Alert Weather Radio. These radios would be extremely beneficial to deaf individuals in the event of a tornado. This radio is constantly monitoring broadcasts delivered from National Weather Service offices across the country. In the event of a tornado, the radio will be activated with a loud tone, LED light, and alert message on LCD display. Individuals can choose to add a bed-shaking feature to their radio. These pictures both represent the Silent Midland Alert Weather Radios. In the bottom left corner, you can see the bed-shaking feature attachment. This little disk is slipped under the mattress and in the event of a tornado, if the deaf individual is sleeping, the device will shake the bed to ensure that the deaf individual is aware of the emergency. Another beneficial feature of these radios is that they use the S.A.M.E. feature, or the Specific Area Message Encoding feature. This feature allows individuals to enter local county codes and eliminate alerts that are not within their specific area. One of the last benefits of these weather radios is that they are portable (as small as an alarm clock), meaning that a deaf individual can be better protected from tornadoes wherever they are. The Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing would easily be able to help us supply individuals with these radios. The GCDHH has a specific grant called the Federal Communications Grant that’s sole purpose is to supply deaf individuals with access to devices that aid in internet/communication services. With the amount of money allocated to this grant, the GCDHH could feasibly provide 75 weather radios with the strobe package and 113 radios with the bed-shaker package.

13 of 18

News Media

Communication Barriers

Subtitles
Lip reading
Primary language
Literacy rates
Limited access
No sign language interpreters

14 of 18

New Media Reform

Most common suggestion
Left side is the interpreter
No obstruction of the weather broadcast information
Split screen/side by side
Dark and plain background

15 of 18

Buddy System Initiative

Hearing person will identify and assist a deaf “buddy”

1 “primary” buddy, 2 “secondary” buddies

Hearing individuals relay all warnings to deaf “buddy”

Buddy System images posted on deaf individuals’ doors/porches

Let public know that deaf individual has a buddy
Front of sign (white) = deaf person has not been checked on/evacuated by buddy
Back of sign (green)= deaf person has been checked on/evacuated by buddies

Important= prevent other citizens from barging into deaf individual’s house trying to save them, risking their lives and causing unnecessary confusion/chaos

GCDHH could adopt this initiative and help distribute it across the country

(Calgaro et al., 2021)

The Buddy System Initiative is an important implementation that we believe could greatly improve the deaf community’s preparedness and response to tornadoes. Basically, a hearing person will identify and assist a deaf buddy. For each deaf individual, there will be one primary hearing buddy and two secondary hearing buddies, just for extra precautions. Hearing individuals will relay all warnings to their deaf “buddy” to ensure that they are aware of the situation. In addition, buddy system images like the ones here on this slide, will be posted on deaf individuals’ doors/porches. These signs have several purposes. For one, they let the public know that the deaf individual has a buddy. If you see that the front of the sign (which is white) is showing, that means that the deaf person has not been checked on/evacuated by their buddy. If you see that the back of the sign (which is green) is showing, that means that the deaf person has been checked on/evacuated by their buddy. If the secondary buddies see the front side of the sign, they will know that the deaf individual has not been checked on and responsibility would fall on them. If the general public sees the front side of the sign on the deaf individual’s door, they will realize that the “buddies” haven’t checked on the deaf individual yet, leading the public to take responsibility. Overall, this system is important because it helps to prevent other citizens from barging into deaf individual’s homes trying to save them, risking their lives and causing unnecessary confusion/chaos. It is just another step in ensuring that deaf individuals are aware of a tornado hazard if they are not near the news or other media outlets. We believe that the Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing could adopt this initiative and help distribute it across the county.

16 of 18

Summary

Tornadoes are extremely violent storms that affect EVERY state in the United States

Most people will be affected by a tornado at least once in their life, including the deaf community

Strategies need to improve to give the deaf population the best chance to prepare for, respond to, and recover from tornadoes

Partnering with the Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, implementing these proposals, and distributing them could change the narrative as it relates to the deaf community and tornado events

T H A N K Y O U

18 of 18

References

Calgaro, E., Craig, N., Craig, L., Dominey-Howes, D., & Allen, J. (2021). Silent no more: Identifying and breaking through the barriers that d/Deaf people face in responding to hazards and disasters. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102156.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 28). Disability & Health U.S. State

Profile Data: Georgia | CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/impacts/georgia.html

Deaf, hard of hearing or hearing disabilities. State of Georgia ADA Coordinator's Office. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from Midland Alert Weather Radio with Strobe. MaxiAids.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.maxiaids.com/midland-alert-weather-radio-with-strobe.

Federal Communications Commission. (2020). 2020-2021 Allocations for the National Deaf-Blind

Equipment Distribution Program (DA 20-527). https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-527A1_Rcd.pdf

Midland Alert Weather Radio with Strobe. MaxiAids.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.maxiaids.com/midland-alert-weather-radio-with-strobe.

Senkbeil, J. C., D. J. Griffin, K. Sherman-Morris, J. Saari, K. Brothers, 2021: Improving tornado warning

communication for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. J. Operational Meteor., 9 (2), 18-35, doi: https://doi.org/10.15191/nwajom.2021.0902. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 28). Disability & Health U.S. State