Changing Logistics of Evacuation Transportation in Hazardous Settings during COVID-19

The logistics of public-sponsored evacuation include transportation assets, personnel, and infrastructure. Effective orchestration leading up to a severe weather event is a complex undertaking requiring capacity that is matched to needs. However, under the compound hurricane-pandemic scenario, the demands for evacuation assistance and the capacity to meet demands change. Pre-event planning must be adjusted and transit modified to reduce risks posed to evacuees and essential workers. This study explores how visualizations of redistributed vulnerability and transportation resources influence planning. The research identifies how transportation, emergency management, and public health officials are adapting hurricane evacuation resources during the COVID-19 pandemic using original data from compound hazard workshops and participatory stakeholder focus groups. Findings show that by the peak of hurricane season, local evacuation recommendations were favored by officials, contracts were in place for noncongregate options, and public resources were adjusted to account for those requiring congregate sheltering. A need remained for coordinating interjurisdictional information about real-time weather, resources, staffing, and traffic as well as local knowledge of roadway flooding with ongoing hazard planning.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000506
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/15276988
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Authors:
  • Hill, Saige
  • Hutton, Nicole S
  • Whytlaw, Jennifer L
  • Yusuf, Juita-Elena
  • Behr, Joshua G
  • Landaeta, Eduardo
  • Diaz, Rafael
• Publication Date: 2021-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: 04021029
• Serial:
  • Natural Hazards Review
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 1527-6988
  • EISSN: 1527-6996
  • Serial URL: http://ascelibrary.org/journal/nhrefo

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: COVID-19; Disaster preparedness; Evacuation; Floods; Hurricanes; Logistics
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Security and Emergencies; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01774302
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Jun 15 2021 12:35PM