using highways for no-notice evacuations - FHWA Operations - U.S. ...

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need to determine whether an evacuation should be ordered and, ifso, the best way to carry it out. With a no-notice incident, sufficientinformation is likely to be unavailable to decision makers before adetermination has to be made on whether to order an evacuation. Instead,incomplete, imperfect, and, at times, contradictory informationabout the incident is arriving, if at all, at the same time decisions needto be made. This means decision makers must be prepared to act onlimited information, and agency staff – particularly individuals locatedin TMCs and in the field – must be trained so that they can effectivelyrespond rapidly and with imperfect information.An advance-noticeevacuation is reallya preventativecourse of actionwhile a no-noticeevacuation is aresponse activity.Imperfect information is problematic under normal circumstances.This is the case even more so with no-notice evacuations due to thequick response time required. In advance-notice evacuations, jurisdictionsmake decisions regarding the implementation of an evacuationto prevent lives from being put in imminent danger; in a no-noticescenario, citizens are usually already at risk. Decision makers havelittle or no time to wait for additional or better information in a nonoticescenario because any delay will likely have a significant effect onthe safety of their citizens; they must be willing to make decisions withwhatever information is available at the time.What does this mean for transportation officials? From a transportationstandpoint, during a no-notice evacuation transportation agencieswill have to be in close contact with decision makers about which evacuationroutes and traffic management tactics should be used. Decisionson which roads to use will be based on the capacity, safety, andpotential chokepoints of those roads, among other factors describedin this Primer. However, there is insufficient time during a no-noticeincident to determine the capacity, safety, and potential chokepointsof all roadways under a transportation agency’s jurisdiction; suchinformation should already have been compiled and prepared for use.Preplanning, computer modeling, and responder training and exercising,all critical aspects, will be discussed in depth throughout the othersections of this Primer.PREPLANNING VS. ADVANCE PLANNINGFor any agency/organization/jurisdiction that will have a role in a nonoticeevacuation, preplanning is a necessary undertaking. It must notbe done only once; the process and the findings need to be updated10 USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS
egularly. A general rule is to update plans on at least an annual basis.Plan reviews may also be required due to any changes in Federal, State,or local regulations that stipulate new or revised practices. As such, itis essential that the focus of a jurisdiction’s evacuation plan is on preparednessand planning activities.The most significant challenge posed by little- or no-notice evacuationsis that they do not provide emergency managers, first-responders, andtransportation personnel with the opportunity to prepare once it isknown that an incident is impending but before the incident occurs.Focusing on what can be done ahead of time to prepare for a no-noticeevacuation will mitigate the effects of not having a Readiness Phase orhaving an extremely limited Readiness Phase.It is important to note the distinction between preplanning and advanceplanning. Preplanning refers to planning efforts undertaken byjurisdictions or agencies before they are aware that they need the informationto make an operational decision. It is considered preplanningif transportation officials determine the capacity, safety and potentialchokepoints of their transportation infrastructure so that if an incidentever occurs the information will be on hand to aid decision makers.Preplanning also includes periodic training for all levels of staff thatwould be involved in a response.PREPLANNINGPlanning effortstaken by an entitybefore it is awarethat the informationis required tomake an operationaldecisionADVANCE PLANNINGPlanning doneduring the ReadinessPhase basedon incident-specificinformationJurisdictions accomplish advance planning during the ReadinessPhase based on event- or incident-specific information. For example,a jurisdiction learns that there is the potential for a wildfire to break afire line and move toward populated areas. Based on the incident, thegeography and demographics of the area that might be affected, andother relevant factors such as the weather and location of roadways, ajurisdiction will do advance planning to determine the best course ofaction (shelter in place, evacuate, etc.). Much of the time, preplanninginformation will be used during the advance planning process.PRIMER ORGANIZATIONThis Primer is organized into six sections.n Section1: Introductionn Section 2: Planning Process – Focuses on the overall process used toUSING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS11
Page 2 and 3: NoticeThe U.S. Department of Transp
Page 4 and 5: Technical Report Documentation1. Re
Page 9: FOREWORDEvacuations may involve hun
Page 13 and 14: 1 INTRODUCTIONEvacuations occur for
Page 15 and 16: able to aid evacuation planners and
Page 17: NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONSThis Primer fo
Page 21: USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUA
Page 24 and 25: TRAFFIC MANAGEMENTCENTERSTraffic Ma
Page 26 and 27: Source: FEMA/Liz Roll.Source: NASA.
Page 28 and 29: Incident CommanderPublic Informatio
Page 30 and 31: Category Description Location of Ro
Page 32 and 33: During an evacuation, EOC officials
Page 34 and 35: epresentatives should be dispatched
Page 37 and 38: 3 Explanation ofNo-Notice Incidents
Page 39 and 40: that would likely require a sizeabl
Page 41 and 42: n On-scene emergency responders may
Page 43: USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUA
Page 46 and 47: to assess the available information
Page 48 and 49: it accomplishes an evacuation’s m
Page 50 and 51: aftermath of an incident. The natur
Page 52 and 53: ture of the contaminant is known. P
Page 54 and 55: of the transportation network, such
Page 56 and 57: zones of the at-risk region are eva
Page 59 and 60: 5 PlanningPlanning considerations C
Page 62 and 63: ers include transportation planners
Page 64 and 65: establish a clear protocol which ag
Page 66 and 67: n Executive government - Mayor and
Page 68 and 69:
lated strategies and tactics, demon
Page 70 and 71:
apidly synthesize information that
Page 72 and 73:
n Location and distribution of evac
Page 74 and 75:
Geographic information systems can
Page 76 and 77:
is-clearing capabilities among supp
Page 78 and 79:
the location of the incident and ho
Page 80 and 81:
TacticNo changes to normal roadway
Page 82 and 83:
DESTINATIONS AND SHELTERINGEvacuati
Page 84 and 85:
n Condition of transportation netwo
Page 86 and 87:
inquiries initiated from out of the
Page 88 and 89:
PUBLIC EDUCATIONEmergency managemen
Page 90 and 91:
During the planning process, each a
Page 93 and 94:
6 Planning for for a No-NoticeaEvac
Page 95 and 96:
Planning and preparedness phaseThis
Page 97 and 98:
How does the evacuation plan identi
Page 99 and 100:
What provisions should the evacuati
Page 101 and 102:
1.6SHELTERING/DESTINATIONFor inform
Page 103 and 104:
Activation phaseThis operational ph
Page 105 and 106:
3.4SHELTERING/DESTINATIONFor inform
Page 107 and 108:
What resources are needed to suppor
Page 109 and 110:
What contingency plans have been pr
Page 111 and 112:
Who needs to be notified to begin t
Page 113 and 114:
CONCLUSIONThis Primer presents guid
Page 115 and 116:
USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUA
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