[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72641-72642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28946]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No: 131113954-3954-01]


Request for Public Comments on Draft Final Report on the 
Technical Investigation of the May 22, 2011 Tornado in Joplin, Missouri

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, announces the 
availability for public comment of the draft final report of the 
investigation conducted by NIST into the tornado that impacted Joplin, 
Missouri on May 22, 2011. NIST will consider all comments received on 
the draft report before it is issued in final form.

DATES: Comments on the draft report must be received no later than 5:00 
p.m. ET, Monday, January 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the draft report may be found on the 
Joplin Investigation Web page  http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/weather/joplin_tornado_2011.cfm. Comments may be submitted by email 
to [email protected] or by mail to: NIST Technical Investigation 
Joplin, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Stop 8611, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8611.
    All comments received will be posted without redaction on the NIST 
Web site at: http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/weather/joplin_tornado_2011.cfm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or if you have

[[Page 72642]]

questions, please contact Dr. Long Phan by email at [email protected] 
or by telephone at 301-975-6077.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to the tornado that impacted 
Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 (Joplin tornado), the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent four engineers to the 
area to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance to conduct an initial 
assessment of the event to assist the NIST Director in determining 
whether a full technical investigation of the event was warranted. 
Based on the analysis of the data collected and other pertinent 
information, the NIST Director established a Team under the authorities 
of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act (15 U.S.C. 7301 et 
seq.) on June 29, 2011 to conduct a detailed technical investigation. 
The establishment of the NCST Team was announced in the Federal 
Register on July 19, 2011 (76 FR 42683).
    The investigation objectives were:
    1. Determine the tornado hazard characteristics and associated wind 
fields in the context of historical data.
    2. Determine the response of residential, commercial, and critical 
buildings, including the performance of designated safe areas.
    3. Determine the performance of lifelines as it relates to the 
continuity of operations of residential, commercial, and critical 
buildings.
    4. Determine the pattern, location, and cause of fatalities and 
injuries, and associated emergency communications and public response.
    5. Identify, as specifically as possible, areas in current 
building, fire, and emergency communications codes, standards, and 
practices that warrant revision.
    The draft report outlines 47 findings related to the May 22, 2011, 
Joplin tornado and concludes with a list of 16 recommendations for 
action in areas of improved measurement and characterization of tornado 
hazards, new methods for tornado resistant design of buildings, 
enhanced guidance for community tornado sheltering, and improved and 
standardized emergency communications.
    Request for Public Comment: Persons interested in commenting on the 
draft investigation report should submit their comments as instructed 
above. NIST will consider all comments received and may revise the 
report based on such comments. All comments will be made publicly 
available without redaction, so the public should not include personal 
or proprietary information in comments. All comments received in 
response to this notice will be made publicly available without 
redaction, so members of the public should not include personal or 
proprietary information in comments.
    Comments submitted should be specific to the maximum extent 
possible: they should clearly state the issue, location (page number, 
paragraph or sentence), provide a short reason for any suggested 
change, and provide suggested language for the requested revision.
    Comments may be submitted to NIST in two ways. Comments may be 
submitted by email to [email protected], or by mail to:

NIST Technical Investigation Joplin, National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, Stop 8611, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8611.

    All comments should contain the following information:

Name (Optional):
Affiliation (Optional):
Contact (Optional): Phone number or email address where the commenter 
can be contacted in case of questions about their comment
Page Number:
Paragraph/Sentence: (e.g., paragraph 2/sentences 2-4)
Comment:
Reason for Comment:
Suggestion for Revision:

    Dated: November 26, 2013.
Mary Saunders,
Associate Director for Management Resources.
[FR Doc. 2013-28946 Filed 12-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P