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

Evacuation planners must ensure that the CONOPS focuses on thetransportation elements of an evacuation. In most cases, emergencymanagement CONOPS are primarily concerned with first responderand law enforcement activity. Given the significance of transportationto an evacuation effort, this approach may need to be modified. Tobecome more engaged in the planning process, transportationplanners knowledgeable of transportation operations must establisha dialogue with the first responder communities (police, fire, andemergency medical) to expand their perspective on the role of transportationand must ensure that evacuation transportation is developedbeyond its typical role as a conduit simply for the movement of people.Certain components are viewed as part of the first responder communities(e.g., service patrols used in Traffic Incident Management operations)and transportation agencies have made considerable investmentsin communication and information transfer technologies and systems.Therefore, an understanding must be reached among these agenciesthat will lead to joint planning and leverage technological, infrastructure,and staffing investments made by the transportation communityto more effectively manage traffic, congestion, and incidents via thecollection and distribution of real-time information. As part of developing(or rethinking) the CONOPS, invested parties need to considerthe availability of transportation resources so that the CONOPSreflects the full capabilities – including those available through theDOTs – that may be used to support an evacuation. Planning conversationsneed to stress integration of the information and communicationsystems of transportation, first-responder, emergency management,and even homeland security, as well as those of TMCs andEOCs, and the importance of creating redundant or shared systems formaintaining lines of communication and situational awareness.Flexibility is critical to successful evacuation efforts. The CONOPSshould be designed to compensate for critical gaps in the preparationprocess resulting from the minimal or non-existent Readiness Phaseof operations after a no-notice incident. Where possible, redundantmeasures and resources should be implemented to compensate forlikely shortfalls of staff, equipment, or resources. No resource shouldbe included in the plan without validation of its availability from theparent organization. In some cases, memoranda of understanding ormutual aid agreements may need to be established to ensure rapid accessto external resources supporting the evacuation operations team.52 USING HIGHWAYS FOR NO-NOTICE EVACUATIONS