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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has long advocated for what it calls a “Whole Community approach” to disaster resilience and recovery. This philosophy holds that the priorities of all governmental, commercial, and interest groups should be considered, and their capabilities leveraged, in preparing for and responding to disasters. According to FEMA, federally recognized Tribal governments are part of the “Whole Community.” In this paper we use systematic content analysis techniques to examine policy documents derived from the Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant program to assess whether and how FEMA has taken the concrete policy steps necessary to include Tribal governments in the “Whole Community.” We find that while FEMA has expressed interest in a more equitable and accessible program that serves the needs of Tribal governments, it has taken few practical steps toward this goal. 

On January 15, 2022, the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai (Tonga) volcano erupted and triggered a tsunami forecasted to reach North America. This event provided a unique opportunity to investigate risk perception and communication among coastal emergency managers and emergency program coordinators (EMs). In response, this research explores 1) how risk can be communicated most effectively and 2) how risk perceptions associated with “distant” tsunami alerts and warnings affect EMs' willingness to issue emergency alerts. A purposive sample of coastal EMs (n = 21) in the U.S. Pacific Northwest participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants represented Tribal, county, state, and federal agencies in Washington, Oregon, and California. Interview transcripts were deductively coded and thematically analyzed. Participants perceived low risk from the Tonga tsunami but took precautionary measures and alerted the public. Participants described how their actions were driven by community characteristics and the anticipated reactions to messaging among residents. Many reported the need to balance notifying the public and avoiding the negative impacts of their messaging (e.g., “crying wolf,” panic, curiosity). The unique nature of the event led to identification of unanticipated facilitators and barriers to decision- making among participants. These findings can inform distant tsunami risk communication and preparedness for coastal communities.