Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

October 2008 Volume 15 - Number 1

International Disaster Update...

New Orleans City Assisted Evacuation Plan

By Graciela Piedras

On August 29, 2008, exactly three years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the city was again preparing to evacuate all citizens. Forecasters predicted Hurricane Gustav would head directly for New Orleans and would reach the city as a Category 4 or 5, with storms as strong as 131 to 155 miles per hour. The city still was not prepared as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has projected to complete the 100-year flood protection by 2011.

On August 30, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that a mandatory evacuation would become effective on August 31: at 8 a.m on the West Bank of the Mississippi River and 12:00 pm for the East Bank. State officials prepared an elaborate system of contraflow lanes on interstate and federal highways leading out of southern Louisiana.

Those persons who remained in New Orleans did it at their own risk and were subject to arrest if they were outside their own property. More than 1500 Louisiana National Guard’s troops were called to help police secure the property. No emergency services were provided by the City of New Orleans during the mandatory evacuation.

The City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP)

72 hours before a Category 3 or larger storm is predicted to hit, the city may begin to implement the City’s Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP), a tiered evacuation method of last resort for citizens who cannot leave on their own because of financial, medical or other reasons. Busses, trains, and airplanes are used to take citizens to shelters outside of the city. CAEP is activated upon orders from the Mayor and in concurrence with the Governor following the declaration of an emergency. The goal is to have the CAEP completed in a 36 hour time period.

For Hurricane Gustav, seventeen sites were set up throughout New Orleans on August 30 and 31. The City of New Orleans, the Office of Homeland Security, and Public Safety coordinated the operation assisted by volunteer organizations. A city hotline on assisted evacuations received approximately 17,000 calls during that time.

More than 18,000 citizens, who were provided with bar-coded I.D. bracelets, were evacuated using the CAEP. An estimated 1.9 million people evacuated from the region.

Disaster Assistance

On September 1, 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Louisiana to help recover from the effects of Hurricane Gustav according to Title V of the Stafford Act. Also, other assistance means such as low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration were made available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance. Assistance can be requested online or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY), 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

The re-entry

By September 4, New Orleans was again open to all citizens because most services were fully functioning. There was a tiered, sequenced plan for repopulating the City in the aftermath of the evacuation. The CAEP successfully returned to New Orleans the citizens who took advantage of it.

Sources:

General information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Gustav

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2008/GUSTAV.shtml?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080827-hurricane-gustav.html

Live Hurricane tracker: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gustav30-2008aug30,0,125474.story

http://www.wral.com/weather/flash/3465391/

CAEP: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_national/evacuation_plan/?SITE=OHCOL&SECTION=HOME

http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=17

Declaration of Disaster for Louisiana: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=45624

How to apply for Assistance after Hurricane Gustav: http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=10489

http://www.fema.gov/assistance/process/assistance.shtm#0#0

http://www.fema.gov/assistance/process/assistance.shtm#1#1