When They Knew: How information sources used by Nashville’s Black and Brown residents affected when they become aware of tornadoes during the March 2–3, 2020 tornado outbreak

Keywords: tornadoes, Nashville, vulnerability, risk, Tennessee, natural hazards, Black geographies, Latinx geographies
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

During the overnight hours of March 2–3, 2020, fifteen tornadoes occurred across Tennessee, Alabama, Southern Kentucky, and Southeastern Missouri. Ten of these tornadoes occurred in Tennessee, killing twenty-five and injuring three hundred and nine people. Three tornadoes impacting Nashville and Cookeville, TN were the deadliest and caused the most in damages to property and crops. Events such as these—occurring at night and impacting more densely populated regions—are becoming more common, particularly in Tennessee where nearly half of tornadoes occur between the hours of 6pm–6am. Most importantly, minoritized populations have been identified to face additional barriers in receiving risk messaging, which compounds their risk of exposure to deadly tornado events. In this study, survey data collected by self-identifying black and brown residents was used to better understand the relationship between minoritized populations and how they received risk-messaging for this event. The primary research questions were 1) if warning sources influenced timing of awareness; 2) do family and friend relationships increase awareness, and 3) did these populations become aware during the event more than before the event. Results suggest that respondents using/receiving two or more verification sources were more likely to know before the event, particularly those who reported relying upon TV, Sirens, and Family/Friends as verification sources.