Communicating “Unnatural Disasters”: A Florida Girl’s take on this Hurricane Season

By Emily Prettyman

Account Manager at Redwood Climate Communications and DC Ecowomen Board Member

This hurricane season has had a busy few weeks. Floridians have been bringing humor to the situation, posting memes saying, “They would like to unsubscribe from the hurricane of the month package.” As a born and raised Floridian currently living in Washington, DC, Hurricane Milton came a little too close to home, making landfall on Siesta Key, my and many others' favorite beach. Besides helping my family, one of the most important things I can do from here is talk about it.   

With all of the recent “unnatural disasters,” I just want to yell, “Why aren’t we taking climate change more seriously?” However, there are more effective ways to communicate about these storms. Below are some concepts to keep in mind when connecting these storms to climate change.

Lead with understanding and sensitivity 

Often, in the wake of climate disasters, people will say, “Why didn’t they just leave?” That is a complicated question. Many people have complicated family situations where they cannot take their pets, elderly relatives, children of divorced parents, and others, so they choose to stay close by. Not to mention, many of these storms also take last-minute turns, so areas that were once considered “safe” get more damage than expected. 

According to NBC’s Al Roker and others, Hurricane Helene's devastating effects helped inspire people to take Hurricane Milton, a once-in-a-thousand-year storm, more seriously. However, that doesn’t mean evacuating was any easier. The storm was scheduled to make landfall Wednesday evening, so the many airports on the Gulf Coast closed on Tuesday, Tampa International Airport(TPA) at 9:00 a.m., and Sarasota/Bradenton Airport ( SRQ) at 4:00 p.m. Personally, I was dealing with the frustration of trying to help elderly family members book a flight on Monday. It was an infuriating activity as flights would go quickly, and airlines charged exorbitant fees to book them. I saw several one-way tickets for over $1,000, normally costing $150-$300. Not to mention, the airlines were not always aware of the airport closing schedules. After several failed attempts, family friends were able to bring my parents on what was likely one of the last flights out of Sarasota at 1:30 am Tuesday morning.   

Why don’t people drive? Many do. But you also need to leave early. Florida is a very long state, and these mega-storms cover most of it. So, you often must get out of the state to fully avoid the storm. On a good day with open gas stations, it could take around 7 hours, with storm traffic adding several more hours. So, you typically need to leave several days in advance. Inspiring that kind of action takes a special kind of reporting. 

 Use Emotion and connect it to Climate Change

Veteran Meteorologist, John Morales, brought the right tone to his reporting on Milton. Morales broke down into tears when discussing how quickly this storm was gaining strength and dropping pressure. His reporting helped show audiences that this is something to take seriously if long-time reporters are this concerned. In a follow-up interview, Morales mentioned that this was one of the very few times he had been alarmed, but he said, “I am alarmed a lot more than I used to be.” He stated that concern for the future victims was a reason for his emotional response. “How can you not feel empathy for the victims again and again?” 

While communicating the storm's severity, he mentioned why this storm was gaining strength so quickly: Climate Change. In his follow-up interview, he said, “I have been communicating on climate for over two decades, and not enough action has been taken.” 

Terms matter

Terminology plays a significant role in shaping our understanding of these events. The term “Natural Disaster,” when used for climate emergencies, leaves out an important connection that human-caused climate change is making them more likely. Through extensive message testing, Potential Energy Collation and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that using the term “Unnatural Disasters” “increases the percentage of people who understand that changes in extreme weather are a result of fossil fuel pollution and climate change.” They have also found the term helps bring implications closer to home for people.  It shows that communities currently feel these impacts, which is an important connection for inspiring action. 

If you are inspired to take action, you can do the following: 

• Donate to vetted organizations. 

• Vote for climate candidates up and down the ballot. (A reminder that Congress allocates Federal Emergency Management Agency’s funding.)

• Talk about it