During hurricane, immigrant communities turned to ethnic media
As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast, many ethnic media in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) served as a lifeline to their respective communities by providing vital information. Without an ability to publish, newspapers translated information and posted it online. Sometimes, the journalists, who are respected community leaders, gave advice over the phone. …
In the hours before the tropical cyclone hit the city, ethnic media translated the emergency preparedness information and advisories from local and state officials into relevant languages and posted them on their websites. For those with limited English-language skills, the translations were their only source of disaster information. …
“Without the Chinese press in New York…thousands of Chinese and other ethnic groups would have been left scrambling for information, particularly the new immigrants who don’t fully understand [English] when they watch or read the news on television,” said Florence Lee, a volunteer at an evacuation center near Chinatown.
