Enhancing People-Centred Early Warning Systems (PCEWS) in Traditional Coastal Communities of Brazil: An Intersectional Approach to Inclusive Risk Communication

Traditional and Local Communities (TLC) living in coastal southeastern Brazil are increasingly impacted by extreme climate and weather events. However, these communities are seldom involved in early Disaster Risk Management. Incorporating their knowledge is crucial to reduce conflicts and achieve sustainable solutions. Here we investigated the existing barriers to the dissemination and communication of early warning messages at the local level according to traditional communities. To this end, we adopted a transdisciplinary and mixed-methods approach, combining demographic data and georeferenced disaster information with focus groups, workshops and interview data. Our research focused on two TLCs in the Southeast coastal zone of Brazil, Ubatumirim & Campinho, which are frequently impacted by hydrometeorological hazards. We identified distinct patterns in the types and frequencies of disasters reported, unravelling the unequal distribution of disaster impacts in each municipality. From these workshops, we identified three key barriers to the dissemination and communication of warnings. First, information about potentially hazardous events is often delayed, with updates reaching the public after the event. Second, the communication networks depend on technologies that often fail during emergencies, making them unreliable. Third, there is no clear distinction between official warnings and misinformation, causing confusion and mistrust. To advance the effectiveness of warnings, future interventions should focus on (1) building redundancy in communication channels for priority groups, (2) designing, testing and evaluating evacuation protocols by involving these groups and (3) formulating customised response plans and emergency kits tailored to these communities.