Credit: Enlace Latino NC.
Year after year, thousands of people suffer the severe consequences of the impact of hurricanes in eastern North Carolina. In conversation with members of the Enlace Latino NC team, dozens of people in the Latino and Latina community who were affected by hurricanes Florence and Matthew spoke about how language barriers and the lack of accessible information hampered prevention and recovery efforts.
After listening to the needs of the community, Enlace Latino NC has launched Prepárate NC, an online guide with resources for the hurricane season in Spanish.
More than 1 million people in the Latino and Latina community live in North Carolina, making up about 10% of the state’s population. Prepárate NC’s purpose is to provide practical and educational tools in Spanish to help mitigate the great risks that the Latino and Latina community faces from the impact of hurricanes.
To guarantee the quality of the information, the site relied on official documents from federal and state entities, as well as interviews with local authorities and community leaders with experience in assisting during natural disasters.
The guide provides resources designed to be useful before, during, and after hurricanes hit.
For the period leading up to the impact of the hurricane, Prepárate NC offers practical recommendations including what to do to reduce damage to the home, the most convenient evacuation routes, and how to purchase insurance that will save thousands of dollars on repairs.
Relating to the moment of the hurricane’s impact, information includes how to get to the shelters, the safest way to act in case of a power outage, and what to do if the streets are flooded.
For the post-storm stage, Prepárate NC has information on returning home safely, repairing the home, collecting flood insurance, accessing temporary housing, and seeking assistance from both the state and non-governmental organizations.
Enlace Latino NC is based in Raleigh, NC.
Visit Prepárate NC.
adapted from a press release from Enlace Latino NC
