1. FEMA MOTF Damage Estimates Moore/Shawnee, OK Tornadoes
May 23, 2014 – 1600 EDT

2. Overview
FEMA Modeling Task Force (MOTF) coordinating damage assessments for one authoritative info source between responding organizations, including, but not limited to:
National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)
NOAA National Weather Service (SRH)
Includes NWS field team surveys of verified wind intensity and damages (ground-truth data)
American Red Cross (field PDA)
FEMA Regions VI and VII
ImageCat, Inc.

3. Current Status: May 23, 1600 EDT
FEMA MOTF damage estimates are ongoing
FEMA MOTF damage estimates are authoritative
Multiple responding organizations produced early, coarse, low resolution damage estimations
Early damage estimations by non-FEMA entities exaggerate impacts based on coarse techniques
FEMA MOTF & NGA use very high resolution, high detail imagery, field verification, and techniques for very refined, high accuracy damage assessment

4. Current Status: May 23, 1600 EDT
FEMA MOTF ground-truth building damage estimates for Moore and Shawnee tornadoes:
Total buildings damaged: 2,393
Affected: 301
Minor: 629
Major: 335
Destroyed: 1,128
Other, non-FEMA damage estimates are not authoritative and may be inaccurate
Additional tornado damage estimates will be added as imagery/observation analyses continue

5. Deconflicting Damage Estimates
Early tornado track data was estimated from radar, not based on field observation
NWS field teams estimated track and wind intensities from observations
FEMA MOTF and NGA are using high resolution imagery to verify damages
FEMA MOTF, NGA, and NWS observations of damage and intensity are in agreement

6. Deconflicting Damage Estimates
Oklahoma SEOC produced early coarse exposure estimates based on Census data through “MARPLOT” software and radar track
This method overestimates exposures by simplified methods
This early estimate has been replaced with ground-truth, field-verified damage observations
FEMA MOTF, NGA, and American Red Cross damage estimates are current, ongoing, and show consistency
Media reports appear to be recycling older, out of date, inaccurate overestimates of damage

7. MOTF/NGA Damage Map

8. FEMA/NGA Imagery-based Damage Assessments
agree with NWS damage/intensity observations.

9. Example – Prelim State Estimate
Early state-based data did not
estimate damages; it only estimated
population/housing exposure
(+/-10,021 Census housing units).
This estimate is inaccurate and not
based on official NWS tornado track
or other observation data.
UNOFFICIAL/OUT OF DATE DATA
NOT FOR OPERATIONAL USE

10. Summary
FEMA MOTF continues to provide coordinated, authoritative damage assessments for federal operations support
FEMA MOTF damage estimates are a work-in-progress and will be updated at least daily until assessment activities are complete
FEMA MOTF OK Tornadoes Situation Map:
Questions: