As part of its continued study on response and communication issues during the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will be conducting interviews with survivors and relatives of victims to better understand citizen response. Researchers will collect information on injuries and fatalities, human behavior, situational awareness, and emergency communications delivered prior to and during the tornado.

The category EF-5, multiple-vortex storm impacted an area approximately three-quarters of a mile wide by 22 miles long, destroyed or damaged nearly 8,000 structures in its path and killed more than 150 people. Teams traveling to Joplin Friday will ask survivors about the type of emergency information they received and their reaction to that information, said Erica Kuligowski, NIST fire protection engineer and sociologist. Information can include hearing the warning sirens, media reports, phone calls from loved ones or seeing storm clouds roll into the area.

“We are trying to gather different pieces of information after speaking with the people who experienced the event firsthand,” Kuligowski said.

Kuligowski said researchers also hope to interview family and friends of victims killed during the tornado in order to understand the type of information victims received and the decisions they made, as well as the resources available to them, their location and where they took shelter. The information will be used to make recommendations if warranted to building codes, standards and practices — specifically the ways emergency communications are provided to communities before a tornado hits.

Interviews are expected be complete by Dec. 12, Kuligowski said. The interviews are part of an ongoing research initiative that started right after the tornado, when NIST sent four engineers to Joplin to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of building performance and emergency communications during the tornado.

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