[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 15052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6069]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Dataset Workshop--U.S. Billion Dollar Disasters Dataset (1980-
2011): Assessing Dataset Strengths and Weaknesses for a Pathway to an 
Improved Dataset

AGENCY: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 
(NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice of request for information.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the schedule and topics of an upcoming 
workshop hosted by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, 
North Carolina. Invited participants will discuss topics as outlined 
below.
    Members of the administrative public, private and academic sectors 
are invited to attend the workshop, and are required to fulfill a 
request to RSVP to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#054e6477606b2b492b486c69696077456b6a64642b626a73"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8f3d9caddd696f496f5d1d4d4ddcaf8d6d7d9d996dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a> by 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, April 
27, 2012 if they wish to attend. The workshop is to be held in a 
federal facility; building-security restrictions preclude attendance 
for those who do not RSVP by the deadline. Space is also limited to the 
first 35 responses, but remote access via webinar will be made 
available for the first 50 participants requesting webinar 
participation. The remote access participation information will be 
provided on an individual basis once participation has been confirmed 
through RSVP.
    Workshop Date and Time: The workshop will be held on May 3, 2012 
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 4, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    RSVP Deadline: Anyone wishing to attend the workshop must RSVP no 
later than 5:00 pm EDT on April 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Veach-Baley Federal 
Complex, located at 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, North Carolina 28801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Smith, National Climatic Data 
Center, 151 Patton Avenue, Rm. 471, Asheville, North Carolina 28801. 
(Phone: 828-271-4183, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dd9cb9bcb0f38eb0b4a9b59db3b2bcbcf3bab2ab"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e3f1a1f13502d13170a163e10111f1f50191108">[email protected]</span></a>) For RSVP responses, 
use the email address noted above (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0d466c7f686323412340646161687f4d63626c6c236a627b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c289a3b0a7acec8eec8fabaeaea7b082acada3a3eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>).

Workshop Goals

    The workshop will focus on a review, discussion, and evaluation of 
NOAA's U.S. Billion Dollar Disasters (1980-2011) dataset and associated 
methods used to develop the data set. An important goal of the meeting 
is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the current dataset and 
related methodology. Emphasis will be placed on dataset accuracy and 
time-dependent biases. Pathways to overcome accuracy and bias issues 
will be an important focus.
    Participants will consider:
    <bullet> Historical development and current state of the U.S. 
Billion Dollar Disasters Report;
    <bullet> What additional data sources and/or new methods should be 
considered to enhance the robustness of the Billion Dollar Disasters 
dataset;
    <bullet> Examination of unique uncertainties related to the cost of 
each of the major types of weather and climate disasters the data set 
addresses;
    <bullet> What steps should be taken to enhance the robustness of 
the billion-dollar disaster dataset and the input sources used for it; 
and
    <bullet> What steps might NOAA take to leverage the expertise of 
the public, private and academic partners in the development, 
maintenance and the timely review/revision of the U.S. Billion Dollar 
Dataset in the long-term?
    The report from this workshop will include:
    [cir] A peer review of the current methods used to estimate 
disaster costs.
    [cir] Guidance for improving these methods.
    [cir] Recommendations for rectifying any known time-dependent 
biases.
    [cir] Recommendations for minimizing future errors and biases.

Mary E. Kicza,
Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services.
[FR Doc. 2012-6069 Filed 3-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P


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