Abstract
On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado spanning three-quarters of a mile in width and tracking through nearly the entire west–east extent of Joplin, Missouri, entered the records as one of the deadliest and costliest events in United States history. Building permit data was used from May 23, 2011–December 31, 2020, to examine recovery progress based on roof repair building permits (permit for roof repair only), residential and commercial building permits, and demolition permits. Each of the four permit types was plotted on the four Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) damage zones, catastrophic, extensive, moderate, and limited, by census block to determine what percentage of total permits were issued in each. Further, data on three permit types (commercial excluded) were plotted in the following combinations: (a) roof repair permits with demolition permits and (b) roof repair permits with residential building permits, plotted on the catastrophic and limited zones only. The goal of the second set of plots was to visualize the 2011 damage path using permit data. Mapping data such as these may help recovery planning through a robust understanding of the relationship between damage and permit issuance as a community enters the restoration phase of the Kates recovery model.
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Data and material availability
The data is publicly available from the city of Joplin, Missouri.
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Not applicable.
Notes
As defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, catastrophic means “extraordinary levels of mass casualties or damage” (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2008, p. 1).
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the City of Joplin City Clerk’s Office for providing the building permit data, and Rhett Mohler at Saginaw Valley State University for assistance with geocoding the data.
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Stimers, M., Paul, B.K. Visualizing the May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri, Tornado path using building permits. Nat Hazards 115, 1461–1474 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05602-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05602-6