NIST's 3rd Disaster Resilience Workshop Set for Oct. 27-28, in Norman, Okla.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)will hold the third in a series of regional workshops devoted to developing a community-centric "disaster resilience framework" to reduce the impacts of hazardous events and quickly restore vital functions and services in the aftermath of disasters. The workshop will be held on Oct. 27-28, 2014, in Norman, Okla.

As part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan, NIST is leading a collaborative nationwide effort to develop a framework that U.S. communities can use to prepare for, resist, respond to and recover from hazard events more rapidly and at a lower cost.

Community disaster resilience not only includes efforts to reduce the risk of hazards and their destructive consequences, but also measures to ensure that the community recovers to normal—or near normal—levels of function in a reasonable time frame.

In breakout sessions, participants will help to develop sections of the framework, which will focus on communities, including buildings and facilities, transportation systems, energy systems, communication and information systems, water and wastewater systems and social aspects of resilience. Each breakout will address performance goals and interdependencies between sectors.

Additionally, two breakout sessions will focus on the Disaster Resilience Standards Panel (DRSP) and on resilience tools and metrics. The DRSP breakout group will further develop a draft charter document with proposed vision, mission, and organizational structure to support the panel in continuing to develop the framework, as well as guidance to support its implementation.

A plenary session on the first day of the workshop will feature an interview with a representative of the City of Moore, Okla., which experienced a deadly and destructive tornado in 2013, and an emergency management official from Joplin/Jasper County, Mo., site of a devastating tornado in 2011.

NIST seeks input from a broad array of stakeholders, including planners, designers, facility owners and users, government officials, utility owners, regulators, standards and model code developers, insurers, trade and professional associations, disaster response and recovery groups, and researchers.

The disaster resilience framework will establish overall performance goals; assess existing standards, codes, and practices; and identify gaps that must be addressed to bolster community resilience. NIST will incorporate input from this workshop into the initial draft framework, which will be issued for public comment in April 2015.

The workshop will be held at the National Center for Employee Development Conference Center and Hotel. Access the registration site and view the agenda.

Learn more about NIST's Disaster Resilience Program.

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