Breaking the Circuit of Information Poverty: Early Warning Messages and DHH Communities in Vietnam

People regardless of their abilities may face the ramifications of natural disasters. However, disaster communications often ignore the lived experience of people with disabilities. Early warning communications, which can better prepare people for disasters, are not the exception. The design and delivery of early warning communications are often auditory, excluding the lived experience of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals. While studies intersecting disaster and disabilities have gained traction, attention given to the DHH remains limited. Through interviews and group discussions with Deaf organizations and DHH individuals in Vietnam, this study found a range of grassroots efforts that the DHH performed when the early warning and disaster communications were exclusionary. It documented the roots of disaster-related information poverty within the DHH communities and their agency to overcome it such as co-creating inclusive content with trustworthy others and hearing people. The findings potentially inform early warning message designers and disaster communication programmers to better incorporate the DHH lived experience to disaster management plans.<p></p>