Field research to application: a study of human response to the 2011, Joplin tornado and its impact on alerts and warnin
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Field research to application: a study of human response to the 2011, Joplin tornado and its impact on alerts and warnings in the USA Erica D. Kuligowski1 Received: 1 November 2019 / Accepted: 17 April 2020 / Published online: 30 April 2020 © This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract An EF-5 tornado occurred on May 22, 2011, in the populated area of Joplin, Missouri, causing 161 fatalities and over 1000 injuries. A conceptual model of protective action decision making was developed based on interviews with Joplin tornado survivors to further understand the factors that influenced decision making and sheltering behavior in the 2011 storm. The model showed that the majority of survivors decided at some point before the tornado hit that the act of seeking protection was not necessary, primarily due to a lack of tornado-related physical cues; previous experiences with tornadoes via false alarms; confusing and/or inconsistent emergency communication regarding the tornado; and/or tornado beliefs about Joplin’s geography. These individuals took action to protect themselves after witnessing audible or visual cues signaling imminent danger to them. Since this work was completed, efforts have been underway to translate this research from theory to practice. Namely, the findings from this work have been developed into guidance for communities on alerting for tornadoes, including the development of message templates and decision-making tools to improve methods for communicating with populations under imminent threat of tornadoes and other wind storm events. Keywords Tornado · Protective action · Risk perception · Alerts · Warnings · Outdoor sirens
1 Introduction An EF-5 tornado occurred on May 22, 2011, in the populated area of Joplin, Missouri. The tornado touched down in an area west of Joplin and traveled through the entire length of the city damaging or destroying approximately 8000 structures and causing almost $2B in insured commercial and residential property losses (Kuligowski et al. 2014). Additionally, a total of 161 fatalities, the highest number caused by a single tornado since 1950, and over 1000 injuries resulted from this disaster event. * Erica D. Kuligowski [email protected] 1
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
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Natural Hazards (2020) 102:1057–1076
In 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a comprehensive technical investigation report examining the environmental conditions of the tornado, the performance of buildings, and sheltering response behavior of the public to the Joplin tornado (Kuligowski et al. 2014). A prominent part of the NIST study was to understand the factors that influenced sheltering behavior in Joplin, including the role that emergency communications played in the decision to take shelter before the storm hit. Sheltering behavior in this storm was of particular interest in the NIST st
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