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Getting The Word Out About Hurricanes In Spanish

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By KATIE CORONADO | News Channel 8

Published: May 23, 2008

Information sessions, media and word of mouth are just some of the ways the Tampa Bay area's Spanish and other non-English speaking residents will receive information during this hurricane season.

Tony Morejon, Hillsborough County's Hispanic liaison, said the county's goal is to make sure everybody has a plan, is informed and is prepared to protect themselves.

"They should take it seriously because within the Hispanic community, it's common to find people who may not trust, either because they may not know enough, or they may think this has something to do with immigration" he said.

Santiago Corrada is Tampa's Administrator of Neighborhood Services. He says they have an emergency plan in place throughout the entire year that combines a number of notification methods. "We can do reverse 9-1-1, we could use the media and a number of different ways, we have our television station, our public access television station."

Hillsborough County - in conjunction with Tampa - distributes information about hurricane preparedness to Spanish speakers. Officials also venture out into the community to tell people how to stay safe in both English and Spanish. "If they speak other languages," Corrada says, "we would use city employees fluent in different languages on a case by case basis."

Tampa and Hillsborough County will also offer information in Spanish about hurricane zones, the evacuation process, shelters, and the do's and don'ts of disaster preparedness.

To help get the multilingual word out, the Tampa Bay Hurricane Expo, "Are You Ready Tampa Bay?" will be held on Saturday, May 31st from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Getting The Word Out:

WVEA-TV Univision will air a 30-minute special at 6 and 11 p.m. May 26.

CENTRO Mi Diario will publish hurricane preparation information in its May 30 edition.

Radio stations that will provide storm information include WQBN, 1300 AM; WYUU, La Nueva 92.5 FM; WLCC, La Ley, 760 AM; WAMA, 1500 AM; and La Invasora, 1550 AM.

Katie Coronado, News Channel 8

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