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

2 PLANNING PROCESSLocal and State agencies routinely handle evacuations from manyincidents, including wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hazardous materialaccidents, and significant transportation accidents. To be able tosuccessfully respond to no-notice incidents and the resulting evacuations,jurisdictions must develop comprehensive evacuation plans. Theprocess through which plans are developed should involve representativesfrom all the agencies that will be involved in supporting evacuationefforts, including those responsible for transportation.The first Primer in this series, Using Highways During EvacuationOperations for Events with Advance Notice, presents a comprehensivedescription of the process for developing an evacuation plan. This sectionprovides a brief overview of some of the key issues that will influencethe planning process, particularly with regard to the challenges ofpreparing for a no-notice evacuation, including:n Planning contextn All-hazards approachn Command structuren Stakeholdersn Role of transportationn Evacuation phasesUnderstanding these elements will better prepare transportation officialsfor participating in the development of an evacuation plan thatis consistent with the National Response Framework (NRF) and theNational Incident Management System (NIMS).planning contextTransportation planners should have an understanding of the intendedscope of the evacuation plan. This will establish the basic parametersfor geographic area and population that the plan will serve. This definitionof scope will help identify a number of other elements that willaffect the final plan, including:n Applicable transportation modesn Elements of the transportation networkn General population size and characteristicsn Agencies that will be involved in the evacuation effort (see “Stakeholders,”later in this section)USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS15