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

availability of accurate real-time information after a no-notice incident.Agencies’ abilities to improve overall situational awareness by collectingand sharing information quickly will enable better decisions.Once a no-notice incident occurs, damage assessments will contributeto a more accurate operational picture, and tactical operations will haveto be highly flexible in order to adjust. ITS tools used on a day-to-daybasis may also be extremely useful for obtaining a rapid assessment ofthe transportation infrastructure after an incident. TMC staff shouldbe tapped by the EOC to interpret and report on visuals from trafficcameras that are still operational throughout the area. These cameras,augmented with security cameras and immediate windshield surveysby first responders and full-function service patrols on the ground, areoften overlooked resources, but may be critical to obtaining a rapidsnapshot of ground conditions and infrastructure damage that willcause operations, including evacuation efforts, to change.flexibility and compromiseIn the immediate aftermath of a little- or no-notice incident, responderslikely will need to conduct an evacuation under less than idealcircumstances due to the time criticality inherent to life saving/sustainingsituations. This means that although officials will conduct theevacuation to the best of their abilities, it may still fall short of theirexpectations because of the challenges posed by no-notice evacuations.Flexibility, good information sharing, and quick decision makingwill be required to adapt to limitations imposed by the incident, andcompromises will need to be made to support some of the evacuation’sprimary goals – particularly evacuating the at-risk population awayfrom imminent danger.Source: FEMA/Jocelyn Augustino.Emergency managers, first responders, and transportation officialsmust be willing to use imperfect, short-term measures in the interestof timeliness. They may employ tactics that address an immediateneed: the safety of evacuees may have to become the priority over theircomfort, with the primary concern being the movement of evacueesfrom imminent danger. For example, evacuees in cars may need to bedirected onto highways and other routes that will enable them to travelout of the at-risk area but then require them to spend a significantamount of time in gridlock, instead of being able to continue on totheir destinations right away. While this may not be an ideal solution,USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS39