Notice2022-15360
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Improving Knowledge About NWS Forecaster Core Partner Needs for Reducing Vulnerability to Compound Threats in Landfalling Tropical Cyclones Amid COVID-19
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43005-43006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15360]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval;
Improving Knowledge About NWS Forecaster Core Partner Needs for
Reducing Vulnerability to Compound Threats in Landfalling Tropical
Cyclones Amid COVID-19
AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before September 19,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#83c2e7f1eae6edede6adf7ebeceee2f0c3edece2e2ade4ecf5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="743510061d111a1a115a001c1b191507341a1b15155a131b02">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648-xxxx in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Nicole Kurkowski, R2O Team Lead, DOC/NOAA/NWS/OSTI, 1325 East West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301.427.9104,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f31363c30333a71342a2d3430282c34361f31303e3e71383029"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3856515b57545d16534d4a53574f4b53517856575959165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This is a request for a new collection of information.
The data collection is sponsored by DOC/NOAA/National Weather
Service (NWS)/Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI).
Compound hazards, like tornadoes and flash floods (called TORFFs), are
a significant issue for risk communication and are common in
landfalling tropical cyclones. Currently, NOAA lacks data and data
collection instruments that articulate and explain how emergency
managers and broadcast meteorologists receive, interpret, and respond
to NWS prediction information about these compound hazards before and
during landfalling tropical cyclones, like Hurricane Ida. Furthermore,
NOAA lacks adequate knowledge about how these risks are best
communicated during COVID-19, when it is important for those who are
most vulnerable to adjudicate their risks of exposure to both severe
weather and COVID-19. Such knowledge about compound weather hazards
would be particularly useful for NWS forecasters who communicate risk
information to their colleagues in emergency management and broadcast
meteorology (hereafter ``partners''), especially when information about
sheltering practices, evacuation, and vulnerability can be complicated
by exposure to public health threats and bilingual needs.
Without this type of information about how partners grapple with
the communication of compound hazards amid the pandemic, NOAA, and
specifically the NWS, cannot determine if it has met its mission of
saving lives and property, propose societal impact performance metrics,
nor demonstrate if progress or improvements have been made, as outlined
in the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. This
effort aims to advance the goal to collaborate across sectors on
``research necessary to enhance the integration of social science
knowledge into weather forecast and warning processes, including to
improve the communication of threat information necessary to enable
improved severe weather planning and decision making on the part of
individuals and communities (Pub. L. 115-25)''. This work addresses
NOAA's 5-year Research and Development Vision Areas (2020-2026) Section
1.4 (FACETs). This effort also advances the NWS Strategic Plan (2019-
2022) ``Transformative Impact-
[[Page 43006]]
Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) and Research to Operations and
Operations to Research (R2O/O2R)'' with specific attention to Goal 1,
sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.13 and Goal 3, sections 3.6 and 3.8.
Furthermore, data collected with NWS partners furthers the NWS Weather
Ready Nation (WRN) Roadmap (2013) Sections 1.1.10, and 1.2.2.
Two types of data--interviews and surveys--will be collected by
researchers at Texas Tech University's Risk and Equity in Disasters
(RED) Lab and at Texas A&M. They have begun to develop data collection
instruments that will allow them to gather risk information from both
English and Spanish speaking partners. These instruments are being
created in collaboration with experts in emergency management and
broadcast meteorology through the Board on Emergency Management and the
Board on Professional Development within the American Meteorological
Society. This helps assure the appropriateness of questions relative to
different decision spaces, job roles, and communication processes.
This data collection serves many purposes, including building
knowledge of how partners attend to, make sense of, and communicate
compound hazards, as well as challenges they face in identifying
vulnerable populations to severe weather in the context of COVID-19.
This data may be used by the NWS training centers in Norman, OK, and
Kansas City, MO, to inform their practices for Impact-Based Decision
Support Services (IDSS) and to improve the information and services it
provides to members of the Weather Enterprise. Specifically, data
collected will help NWS develop new forecaster training modules,
situational awareness strategies, and best practices for IDSS with
partners. This research-to-operations application of knowledge is a
necessary step in improving risk communication among expert groups,
which, in turn, benefits vulnerable populations who ultimately must act
quickly and safely to adjudicate which risks pose the greatest threat
to them as the threats evolve.
II. Method of Collection
The primary methods of data collection for this study will be
virtual or in-person semi-structured interviews (COVID-19 restriction
dependent) with partners for a case study of TORFFs in the first year
of the grant (2021-2022, or Phase 1) followed by a national online
survey of partners in the second year (2022-2023, or Phase 2). For
Phase 1, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with partners in
local areas impacted by a recent hurricane with embedded TORFF hazards,
such as Hurricane Ida and its remnants. Questions will focus on risk
assessment, risk communication, and vulnerability within the context of
a pandemic. Convenience sampling will be used based on those areas that
experienced TORFF warnings, as verified by sources like the Iowa
Environmental Mesonet, and internet searches of news stories about
TORFF impacts. For Phase 2, a national online survey will be designed
and fielded after interview data have been analyzed. Results from Phase
1 will be used to guide survey design, including sampling strategy and
sampling frame. Survey questions will reflect findings and elicit
information about compound hazard risk communication and vulnerability
for the same population. The survey will be designed with assistance
from a consulting service (e.g., Qualtrics) and suggestions from
collaborators from public safety. Interview guides and survey questions
will be translated into and conducted in Spanish, where appropriate.
Respondents will include adults (age 18+) who reside in the United
States, recruited through emails and phone calls to partners in areas
impacted by TORFFs embedded in landfalling tropical cyclones. Contact
information for respondents is publicly available and will be obtained
both by internet searches and, when needed, with the assistance of
local NWS Weather Forecast Office staff to identify appropriate
participants in emergency management and broadcast media markets. For
interviews, emails and phone calls will be used to recruit participants
and coordinate interviews via Zoom or other video platform; interviews
may also be conducted in person, depending on local COVID restrictions.
Survey respondents will likewise be contacted through email and
directed to an online survey. NWS staff may assist in facilitating
email introductions to their partners for interview requests and to
help distribute survey links to ensure sufficient response rates. Our
collaborators with the American Meteorological Society and the National
Weather Association will also help us identify outreach approaches to
recruit participants (e.g., social media and message boards) and ensure
sufficient response rates.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648-XXXX.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular (New information collection).
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; State,
Local, or Tribal government; Federal government.
Estimated Number of Respondents for interviews for Interviews: 30.
Estimated Time Per Response: 1 hour per respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours for Interviews: 30.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: None.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. Ch. 111, Weather Research and
Forecasting Information.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-15360 Filed 7-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KE-P
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