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Globalisation and diversity has increased the presence of different languages in Swedish municipalities. As the local administrative authorities with responsibility for the public crisis management, how are these municipalities coping with crisis communication recipients that are not speaking Swedish? Through an inductive approach, this thesis formulates a theory of crisis communication adaptation by studying Swedish municipalities with a large part of inhabitants with foreign backgrounds. This thesis finds that municipalities that are not adapting their crisis communication to non-Swedish speakers follows a discourse that paints a picture of these recipients as at least understanding the Swedish language. Municipalities that do adapt their crisis communication have drawn lessons from local incidents that complements this discourse. This grounded theory is a unique combination of crisis contingency, crisis communication and foreign language speakers as recipients. Other studies that this thesis relates to has focused on the broader aspects of intercultural communication, crisis communication as a legitimating and relational building process and how globalisation may exacerbate the need to adapt to a changing community. Risk communication is encompassing these perspectives, and this thesis provides a narrowed focus of this field. Further studies may contribute to how well the understandings of the municipalities reflects upon the recipients’ knowledge of Swedish and how the recipients themselves take part in crisis communication.