NIST: NCST Advisory Committee briefed on construction safety investigations — after Hurricane Maria most hospital and school buildings in Puerto Rico had minimal structural damage but extensive water intrusion through damaged building enclosures
On 28 September 2026 the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reported on the two-day meeting of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee held on 23–24 September. NIST presented progress in its investigations of the 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South building and of the impacts of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico in 2017, as well as the implementation of recommendations from the 2011 Joplin tornado investigation.
- The Hurricane Maria team presented its draft principal findings to the committee for the first time, grouped into preparedness, hazard exposure, infrastructure, building performance, mortality and recovery. Most hospital and school buildings experienced minimal structural damage but suffered extensive water intrusion due to damage to building enclosures — roof coverings, windows, doors and roof-mounted equipment.
- The investigation found that pre-storm communications from the National Hurricane Center and others contributed to broad public understanding of the approaching hazard and that most residents took protective measures. Surveys showed, however, that residents would like more specific information on the expected performance of buildings and infrastructure in windstorms, including homes, healthcare facilities, schools and utilities.
- It was the first committee meeting since the Champlain Towers South team released its technical findings in June 2026. Investigation co-lead Glenn Bell outlined potential topics for recommendations: quality and design of construction, code enforcement and records retention policies, and building inspections; the team is consulting industry experts and the building code communities on them.
- NIST highlighted the extensive data collection, testing and modelling that goes into each investigation, and released two “NCST Insider” videos featuring the co-leads of the materials science project (Scott Jones) and of the building and code history project (Jonathan Weigand). Marc Levitan reviewed improvements to codes, standards and practices based on the Joplin tornado recommendations — the NCST Act requires NIST to work with code and standards organisations to implement its recommendations.