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

that would likely require a sizeable evacuation include earthquakes,tsunamis, chemical releases that result in a large moving toxic cloud(plume), explosions at specialized sites such as liquid natural gas facilities,and terrorist attacks using unconventional explosives (e.g., radiologicaldispersal devices).Evacuations that result from such incidents will likely involve a tremendousnumber of evacuees, possibly from more than one jurisdiction,who need to move from the at-risk area(s). This will requireintensive efforts on the part of emergency managers, first responders,volunteer staff, and transportation personnel to coordinate, transport,and shelter the affected populations, and therefore will place greatdemands on staff and resources. Some local agencies may not beadequately prepared with sufficient resources to address a wide-scaleno-notice situation. Moreover, the emergency response staff may beamong those directly affected by the incident and may be unavailableto assume their duties.With wide-scale incidents, first responders will likely be spread outthrough the entire affected area, even if large portions of available firstresponders are focused on specific problems (such as collapsed buildings)or large numbers of injured people who need immediate medicalattention. As such, even though first responders are likely to beworking at one or more critical locations and their localized activityshould not directly hinder the corresponding wide-scale evacuation,they may not be available to help support the actual evacuation effort.This element will vary greatly, depending on the nature and severityof the precipitating incident. Furthermore, first responders’ primaryrole is life saving/sustaining activities; as a result, transportation operationsstaff – including full-function service patrols – may be handlingfirst-response-type activities at highway incident scenes until additionalsupport resources arrive.Large incidents that precipitate a wide-scale evacuation typically causewidespread damage (through both primary and secondary effects)and are therefore more likely to compromise critical infrastructure ina manner that hampers evacuation movement. Particular elementsof the transportation system, such as bridges and tunnels or even thehighway or subway systems, are more vulnerable to damage fromseismic and explosive incidents, rendering them unsafe for use. If theseUSING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS31