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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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November
2006
Volume 11 -
Number 2 |
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Analysis of DC Metro Area Evacuation Plan
By Maria Lya Ramos Based on how well residents could clear out if all
available highway lanes were used as evacuation routes, a new study gives
the Washington, DC evacuation capability a failing grade. The “Emergency Evacuation
Report Card 2006,” commissioned by the American Highway Users Alliance and
the American Bus Association, ranks Washington as one of 25 urban centers
that “could face greater challenges than New Orleans experienced after Hurricane
Katrina.” The DC metro area also received a failing grade in exit capacity
and internal traffic flow. The Department of Homeland Security reached similar
conclusions in their final report on the Nationwide Plan Review – 90 percent
of the nation’s urban areas are simply unprepared to deal with large-scale
catastrophe, including the DC area.
A September GAO report, “Assessment of the National Capital Region Strategic Plan,” also found that the National Capital Region’s evacuation annex to be insufficient during a catastrophic incident. Similarly, a recent West Virginia University survey also underscores the need for inter-state cooperation in handling the exodus of 6 million or 7 million people in the event of an emergency. The problem lies in coordination and communication – at the regional level, the National Capital Region, the Regional Emergency Coordination Plan is established, with state and local governments (14 jurisdictions) in charge of evacuation plans. This involves D.C. police, U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, U.S. Park Police and the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, all entrusted with emergency management. Communication needs would be met by Alert DC, the city's emergency notification system programmed to call all 1.5 million land-line telephone numbers registered in the District with a recorded message, as well as send 18,000 text messages a minute to cell phones, computers, pagers and other electronic devices. However, the system won't help people without a telephone. The D.C. area evacuation plan includes twenty five corridors (routes) radiating from downtown Washington, D.C. Each of the routes extends to the Capital Beltway (I-495) and beyond. Egress and ingress green road signs have been placed along these routes by the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia for outbound evacuation and inbound emergency vehicles. Outbound signs display an arrow (with the symbol for the Capital Beltway, or the words “to Maryland” or “to Virginia”), inbound signs show images of monuments. Metrorail, Maryland commuter trains and Virginia railways would also be available for those lacking access to a vehicle. Approximately 37 percent of D.C. households are without a car. The D.C. Transportation Department is also working on a "walk-out" plan with staging areas for people to get assistance. City engineers estimate that under their improved evacuation plan, it would take the approximately 800,000 vehicles traveling in the city daily about two or three hours to leave, depending on the conditions. The evacuation plan was developed two years ago in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and officials continue coordinating with other jurisdictions for improvement. More information at: http://fast.dc.gov/match.aspx?query=evacuation&origin=1&source=querybox&Image1.x=0&Image1.y=0 http://www.bepast.org/docs/references/National%20Capital%20Area/Evacuation.pdf http://www.highways.org/pdfs/evacuation_report_card2006.pdf http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d061096t.pdf?source=ra |