Dive Brief:

• Buildings in tornado-prone areas of the U.S. should be built with high winds in mind, the National Institute of Standards and Technology says in a report on the Joplin, Mo., tornado of May 22, 2011.
• The agency offers suggestions in a 492-page report for ways building codes could be written to accommodate the dangers of the storms in the region known as Tornado Alley.
• The report, based on an assessment begun two days after the twister that killed 161 people, included studies of the damage and interviews with people in the area.

Dive Insight:

NIST hopes the report will begin a discussion among local officials about how to have buildings built better for the area they are in. Codes should accommodate tornado risks the same way that building codes in hurricane-prone areas take those natural forces into account.