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Federal agency calls for national standards for U.S. tornado protection

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A draft report released late last month by a federal agency calls for national standards for building design and construction, public shelters and emergency communications to reduce the human and economic costs of tornadoes.

The report, released Nov. 21, provides the results of a two-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology into the May 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Mo.

The category EF-5 Joplin tornado destroyed 8,000 structures, killed 161 and is considered the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.

The NIST study focused on tornado characteristics, building performance, human behavior and emergency communication.

The report, which has been released to garner public comment, found that in most cases buildings failed to adequately protect occupants regardless of their construction type, and that Joplin residents had little access to emergency shelters. The report also found that communications failures and confusion contributed to a delayed or inadequate response by businesses and homeowners in the tornado's path.

While saying that many of the report's storm engineering findings “have been around for some time,” Tanya Brown, research engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's Research Center in Richburg, S.C., said the report addressed not only structural issues but issues surrounding emergency communications and disseminating information.

“I will say that this is one of the most comprehensive reports we have seen” regarding tornado resiliency, Ms. Brown said. “I was really happy to see that NIST is taking the lead on this.”

James Waller, research meteorologist at Guy Carpenter & Co. L.L.C. in Philadelphia, also welcomed the report, saying that while groups like the IBHS and others have been promoting resilient construction and tornado-resilient construction measures that can save lives and reduce property losses, implementation and enforcement of such standards isn't uniform from state to state and county to county in the U.S.

“We're hearing the same message from different angles, but I think it's an important message,” Mr. Waller said.

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