When Emergency Warnings Get Lost in Translation

The nuances in any language can get lost in translation. But when the language includes a life-saving warning about the need to prepare for a hurricane or evacuate the path of a tornado, there’s no room for details to get lost in translation. And yet they do. Many migrants didn’t evacuate from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina because the storm warnings were broadcast mainly in English. Some languages don’t even have words for hurricane or tornado, so what Google translate spits out might not fully communicate the seriousness of the approaching storm. Emergency management researcher and Ph.D. student Amer Abukhalaf highlights some of these dangerous language disconnects in his recent work at the University of Florida. (Segment produced by Lynsey Mella)