The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation Special Report 294 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix D Case Studies
Appendix D Case Studies
Pages 174-276
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From page 174... ...
4. Are there formal arrangements with transit providers in other juris dictions should emergency evacuation needs overwhelm the local tran sit provider?
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12. Are school buses part of the plan, and, if so, how will they be deployed?
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Does the emergency management agency have the ability to communicate via voice (radio) and data (e-mail, critical incident management software)
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Questions for Interviews with Transit Agencies Background Questions 1. Please provide basic information on the size and geographic charac teristics of the urbanized area (e.g., population, density, other factors that could affect evacuation capability)
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4. Do you have formal arrangements with transit providers in other jurisdictions should emergency evacuation needs overwhelm your agency's resources?
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Department of Homeland Security, Federal Transit Administration) for evacuation planning?
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with the other agencies that are crucial to a suc cessful response (i.e., law enforcement, public works, traffic operations, emergency management)
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2. Is the plan part of a larger metropolitanwide emergency evacuation plan?
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Department of Homeland Security, Federal Highway Administration) for evacuation planning?
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with the other agencies that are crucial to a suc cessful response (i.e., law enforcement, public works, traffic operations, emergency management)
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D ata on UA population, land area, and population density were drawn from the U.S. Bureau of the Census's 2000 Decennial Census of Population and Housing and the Federal Transit Administration's 2003 National Transit Database.
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Emergency Planning The Offices of Emergency Management (OEMs) of both the City of Houston and Harris County have primary responsibility for emergency planning and response in the Houston UA.
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METRO's Role in Emergency Evacuation During and After Hurricane Rita Surprisingly, hurricanes on the scale of Katrina and Rita are infrequent events for the Houston area. The last major hurricane was Category 3 Ali cia in 1983, and METRO, which had been in existence only 5 years at the time, had no plans to stop normal service.
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From page 187... ...
The existing evacuation plan was geared to a partial exodus of no more than 1 million people from storm surge zones and assumed vehicle occupancy rates of about 2.1 per sons per car. Instead, between 1.5 and 2.5 million people attempted to evacuate Harris County, taking with them all the vehicles, boats, and trail ers they owned, resulting in occupancy rates of about 1.2 persons per car. The result was predictable -- massive traffic jams, with vehicles that ran out of fuel or broke down, for a period of 24 hours or more.
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• Brought fuel to emergency response teams. • Played a lead role in convincing the state to open contraflow lanes to ease freeway congestion.
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(the state police) is the state's primary law enforcement agency in rural areas and has good communications with small communities.
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It attempted to address the equipment shortfall through the use of state-provided buses, school buses, and rail. However, meeting surge capacity needs remains a challenge.
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Special-Needs Populations Plans for the evacuation and transport of special-needs populations were quickly overwhelmed during Hurricane Rita. (Special-needs populations are defined broadly, ranging from anyone without access to a car to those requiring medical equipment to be transported with them.)
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However, this level of service is inadequate for a major evacuation. Nursing homes, continuing care facilities, and hospitals have their own evacuation plans and transport providers and thus do not need to draw on METRO's equipment.
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The role played by METRO first in handling Katrina evacuees and then in helping manage the Rita evacuation demonstrated its capabilities. In the future, METRO would like to play an even greater role in regional emergency planning and evacuation, expanding beyond its service area to include the entire Houston–Galveston Area Council region and clarifying its responsibilities in coordinating transit buses, contract buses, taxis, and school buses in the city's emergency plan.
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From page 194... ...
Small jurisdictions outside the UA can quickly be overwhelmed by evacuees, and even other neighboring major metropolitan areas, such as Dallas in the case of Houston, may not be able or willing to muster equipment and shelter as quickly as necessary to assist in an evacu ation. The state must be significantly involved in regional evacuation plan ning that potentially affects other areas of the state before an emergency strikes, both in brokering arrangements among jurisdictions and in ensur ing timely state action, equipment, and resources.
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Nalls, Emergency Management Coordinator, Office of Emergency Manage ment, City of Houston Mike Montgomery, Director/Fire Marshal, Fire Marshal's Office, Harris County Documents Consulted 1. Governor's Task Force on Evacuation, Transportation, and Logistics. February 14, 2006.
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S tatistics cited here come from a community profile prepared by the City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
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Transit Chicago's transportation network is well developed, including an exten sive transit and highway system and freight rail network. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
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Chicago also has an extensive sys tem of limited-access highways, including 64 miles of expressways, which radiate outward from the downtown area. Finally, Chicago is an important rail hub, with three major transfer facilities where cross-country freight is transferred to other cities and rail lines. Emergency Planning The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC)
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Transit's Role in Emergency Evacuation Chicago area transit agencies each have their own evacuation plans. How ever, CTA, Metra, and Amtrak are all identified as key support agencies in the City of Chicago CBD Evacuation Plan.
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It would also coordinate changes in schedule and routes with OEMC, CTA, Cook County Sheriff's Police, and other suburban law enforcement officials to supplement CTA services. If the incident occurred off-peak when equipment and personnel were not as read ily available, Metra estimates that personnel would be prepared to move trains from coach yards to all major downtown terminals within 30 minutes of noti fication.11 If OEMC directed passengers to the right train, Metra believes it could handle surge capacity in an emergency.
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PACE does not consider itself a primary responder, although it has its own evacuation plan. In an emergency, it would follow the lead of local emergency managers and send supervisors along with equipment to assist special-needs customers.
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All area transit providers are part of the Regional Transit Security Working Group. To receive federal funding, they are required to develop a regional transit security strategy.
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The cameras can be used to monitor traffic egress from the city and can thus provide decision makers with greater situational awareness during an emergency. Support for Incident Response The personnel and equipment of many transit providers could also be used to help transport emergency responders and bring equipment to the site of an incident.
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From page 204... ...
Recovery Transit providers also have a role to play in recovery, although this role has received less attention than others in some evacuation plans. For example, once the immediate danger had passed, CTA would either restore normal service, enabling evacuees to return to the CBD or continue to outlying areas; reroute service around problem areas; or, if the CBD remained closed, estab lish shuttle service between drop-off points and end-of-line terminals.
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From page 205... ...
PACE is also working closely with the mayor's Office for People with Disabilities to establish a special voluntary registry of individuals who need assistance, but this effort is still in the initial stages.15 PACE officials acknowledge the importance of evacuating those who need assistance but also perceive that transit is viewed as a "catch all" for transporting special-needs populations and is limited in the assistance it can realistically provide. 15 T he Federal Emergency Management Agency's Chicago Region Evacuation Planning Group (see the next subsection)
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From page 206... ...
No timetable has been set for development of a written regional evacuation plan. There has also been some discussion of developing a regional rail plan, which would involve all the major transit providers, as well as Amtrak and the freight railroads, but funding for this activity is an issue.
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From page 207... ...
Area transit providers believe they have adequate personnel and equipment to handle 17 T he Metro County Coordinators Council comprises emergency management staff from the City of Chicago; Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, and Will Counties; the Salvation Army; the Red Cross; the Illinois Emergency Management Agency; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; DHS; and any other organizations that need to be represented. The council meets to discuss issues and develop strategies related to homeland security and emergency management from a regional perspective.
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From page 208... ...
Another challenge is development of a regional evacuation plan to ensure that all the major players are coordinated in the event of a major emergency. Coordination is also necessary with the collar suburbs, exurban areas, and nearby states to help ensure adequate shelters, police protection, fuel, and supplies so that outlying communities will not be overwhelmed in the event of a major evacuation of the City of Chicago.
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From page 209... ...
As the City of Chicago's CBD evacuation plan notes, the city would require extensive support from regional, state, and federal agencies in a major emergency. Federal fund ing from DHS has been forthcoming, but area officials believe that more targeted funding for evacuation planning would be productive.
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5. Chicago Region Evacuation Planning Committee.
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The numbers are even higher in NYC, where 56 percent of house holds reported not having a car, ranging from 77 percent in Manhattan to 8 percent in Staten Island. The large numbers of carless, particularly in Manhattan, reflect the existence of an extensive transit network; limited on-street and expensive off-street parking; and a high level of congestion on area highways, which makes travel by private vehicle difficult.
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From page 212... ...
NYCT also contracts with 14 carriers to provide paratransit services.22 In addition, the MTA system includes the Long Island Rail Road, the largest commuter rail road in the United States; Long Island Bus, which serves Nassau, Western Suffolk, and Eastern Queens Counties; the Metro-North Railroad, running north out of Manhattan and serving Westchester County and other subur ban New York and Connecticut counties; and a new MTA Bus Company, created in 2004 to assume the operations of seven private bus companies, which provides local services in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, as well as express service from Manhattan to these boroughs. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 98 percent of NYC residents live within one-quarter mile of an MTA NYCT subway station, a Staten Island Railway station,23 or a local bus route.
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-- organizationally part of the Office of the Mayor -- has primary responsibility for planning and coordinating emergency management activities for NYC and for activating the emergency operations center (EOC) -- a new state of-the art-facility located in Brooklyn -- in the event of an emergency.24 NYCOEM coordinates with all the key agencies in the region regarding emergency planning, including the New York Police Department (NYPD)
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From page 214... ...
If state assistance is required, the governor declares an emergency; the New Jersey State Police plays the lead operational role in any evacuation; and the state OEM, oper ating through regional offices, has the primary coordinating function. Transit's Role in Emergency Evacuation Because of the reliance of New Yorkers on transit services, particularly in NYC, the New York UA's extensive network of transit providers is an integral part of the emergency plans for NYC and surrounding counties.
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From page 215... ...
Army Corps of Engineers, working with PB Consult, provided NYCOEM with the esti mates of the potential numbers of evacuees. 26 T he Trans-Hudson Emergency Transportation Plan is the first phase of a four-phase effort to improve evacuation planning.
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From page 216... ...
The roles of the major transit providers as detailed in existing evacuation plans are described below. Evacuation The most detailed role for transit is provided in the MTA NYCT Hurricane Evacuation Service Plan.28 The primary role of NYCT is to move those in flood zones out of harm's way to safe locations with friends and family or to public evacuation centers.
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From page 217... ...
During a normal morning peak hour, NYCT subway and bus services transport approxi mately 500,000 and 240,000 passengers, respectively. In a hurricane evacuation scenario, many commuters and school-bound riders would not be using the system; presumably, most businesses and schools would be closed in advance of a hurricane.
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From page 218... ...
The Trans-Hudson Emergency Transportation Plan provides for alternative bus loading from the street should the Port Authority bus termi nal be compromised in any way. Buses would then travel on dedicated lanes through the Lincoln Tunnel and on the New Jersey Turnpike to the main reception center in northern New Jersey -- Liberty State Park -- where provi sion would be made for further passenger transport or shelter if necessary.
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Command and Control Transit providers are well represented in the emergency decision-making structure. In the event of an emergency, each transit agency would send a representative to the NYC EOC.
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From page 220... ...
Transit providers hope to minimize any confusion by running schedules as close to normal as possible. If an evacuation were required, transit provider supervisory and station staff would help direct passengers to the correct train or bus to access evacuation centers, and announcements would be made on board.
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Support for Incident Response and Recovery NYCOEM is responsible for notifying transit agencies of resources and support needed for transporting emergency personnel to an incident site at the time. According to NYCOEM, plans have been developed for this eventuality.
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From page 222... ...
those who need medical assistance. For those who are ambulatory, NYC paratransit vehicles and MTA-accessible buses or supplementary school buses with lifts will transport them to pub lic shelters.36 For those who can sit but not walk, NYC firefighters will bring them to MTA paratransit vehicles or accessible MTA or school 35 C urrently there are 62 such teams in the city.
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From page 223... ...
Finally, a drill or at least a tabletop exercise would be useful to help determine whether the plan will work in practice. Jurisdictional Issues and Development of a Regional Evacuation Plan Emergency planning in the New York UA is enormously complex, involv ing multiple jurisdictions and states.
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From page 224... ...
Contraflow lanes in NYC are viewed as impractical, although NYPD would secure the streets around the Port Authority bus terminal to facilitate bus traffic to New Jersey.42 NYC DOT can also initiate special hurricane signal timing to facili tate traffic movement and can use electronic signs as well as preinstalled evacuation route signs to guide traffic during an evacuation. DOT staff indi cated the existence of detailed plans for handling pedestrian and vehicle con 38 A rgonne National Laboratory is currently working with OEMs in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and townships, Westchester County, the Port Authority, and SEMO to review all local hurricane evacuation plans and identify any gaps.
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From page 225... ...
Reverse-lane strategies are in place for the movement of evacuees from shore communities inland in the event of a hurricane or major coastal storm. As part of the Trans-Hudson Emergency Transportation Plan, the State Police would also control traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike to ensure that buses coming from NYC through the Lincoln Tunnel would have direct access to Liberty State Park and the Meadowlands if the latter facility were activated once construction is complete.
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From page 226... ...
However, federal funding has not been forthcoming for the development of regional evacuation plans, although DHS has man dated that UAs develop such plans for catastrophic emergencies requiring evacuation.43 Without such external assistance, possibly tied to performance indicators, it is doubtful that the development of a regional plan will move quickly given the time and numbers of agencies that must be involved. Summary The New York UA has the largest and densest population of the 38 UAs studied.
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From page 227... ...
Transit providers are well integrated into emergency evacuation plans, and multiple modes of transport -- rail, bus, commuter rail, and ferries -- would be used in an emergency evacuation. MTA has developed a detailed service plan for a hurricane evacuation on the basis of information provided by NYCOEM on the locations and numbers of potential evacuees.
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From page 228... ...
A key issue is whether it is realistic to con sider evacuation of a major UA. Emergency planners have unequivocally answered this question in the negative, and all emergency evacuation plans are predicated on partial evacuations and sheltering in the area, if neces sary.
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From page 229... ...
Since Hurricane Katrina, DHS has placed greater emphasis on the development of regional evacuation plans for a catastrophic emergency. New York has assembled a Regional Evacuation Planning Team, but without more external assistance, possibly tied to performance indicators, progress is not likely to be rapid.
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, Emergency Response Guidebook, Version 2006–2007. Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana Case Study In addition to responses to the questionnaires presented above, this case study is based on information gathered during a site visit made on August 13–14, 2007.
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The remainder live in Orange County (see Figure D-4)
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48 is the pri mary transit provider in the Los Angeles UA, serving the City of Los Angeles and the rest of Los Angeles County. The agency is supported by an allotment of the state sales tax, a portion of which it allocates to other local transit operators.
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From page 233... ...
MTA contracts with Access Services to pro vide paratransit service to those with disabilities in its service area.51 Los Angeles County is served by four other major transit providers (a total of 42 transit agencies serve the county)
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From page 234... ...
It also owns 374 vehicles that are operated and maintained by a contractor. Of these, 265 are in paratransit service, and the remaining 109 are in small bus fixed-route service.53 Emergency Response and Evacuation Planning The authority to declare a state of emergency rests with local government.
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From page 235... ...
County sheriff's offices have this responsibility in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.55 Three primary agencies have responsibility for emergency planning in the Los Angeles UA -- the EPD of the City of Los Angeles, the OEM of Los Angeles County, and the Orange County Department of Emer gency Services (DES)
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From page 236... ...
DES is responsible for emergency planning and coordination of the appropriate response in Orange County, including activation of the county EOC. If an evacuation were ordered by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, OCTA would provide transportation for those without access to a private vehicle to assembly points or other designated locations at the direction of the Transportation Unit Coordinator at the EOC.
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From page 237... ...
have forged close links between Orange County emergency managers and OCTA. Despite the lack of areawide evacuation plans, California has a long his tory of mutual-aid agreements, dating back to the Civil Defense program in the 1950s.
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From page 238... ...
Transportation hubs have been identified from which transit buses would take those who lack access to a private vehicle to area high schools and parks, and the City of Los Angeles DOT has assigned a dedi cated safety and security liaison to help coordinate the DOT's transit role. Foothill Transit is not currently included in Los Angeles County emer gency plans, but the new director of emergency response believes the agency could play a role in an emergency, particularly in the evacuation 59 S EMS was integrated into the federally required National Incident Management System (NIMS)
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From page 239... ...
The location of an incident, the time of day it occurred, and minimal staffing on trains also would limit the ability of Metrolink to provide assistance in a major incident. Long Beach Transit is involved in local emergency planning, including the tsunami plan, which could involve evacuating 20,000 to 30,000 Long Beach residents or more, and the evacuation plan for the Port of Long Beach.
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From page 240... ...
However, use of school buses to pro vide transportation in an emergency, with the exception of evacuating stu dents, is a different story. According to school district officials, the 2,000 school buses of the Los Angeles Unified School District are fully commit ted on weekdays and thus would not be available to assist in the evacua tion of the general population.
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From page 241... ...
Other, smaller transit providers -- Foothill Transit and Metrolink, for example -- have not been integrated into county emergency plans.62 When MTA was asked what would be the key require ments for integrating transit into a regional evacuation plan, staff noted the need for a clear chain of command whereby the agency would be a full partner in the incident command structure; designated evacuation routes with dedicated lanes for buses and emergency vehicles; designated pickup points (e.g., Union Station, the Convention Center) , particularly in downtown Los Angeles; designated drop-off points, which are likely to be schools selected by the Red Cross; detailing of evacuation scenarios; and a good interagency communications system.63 According to MTA, the main obstacles to a greater role for transit in regional evacuation are the condition of and congestion on area roads and freeways, fuel availability (90 percent of MTA buses use compressed natural gas, and DASH buses operate on alternative fuels)
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From page 242... ...
Other transit providers, primarily in Los Angeles County -- Foothill Transit and Metrolink -- are not part of the county's emergency decision making structure, nor do they have close ties with MTA regarding emer gency operating plans or response. Communications In the event of an emergency in Los Angeles County, the CEOC would be responsible for coordinating transportation-related requests for assistance.
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From page 243... ...
Communications systems between DES and OCTA are fully interoperable via multiple modes, including radio, text messages, and satellite phones. As the primary coordinator for Los Angeles County transportation providers in an emergency, MTA has a system for communicating with other local transit providers.
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From page 244... ...
In Santa Ana, the Orange County seat, where nearly three-fourths of the population is Spanish speaking, the fire department, which is responsible for emergency management in that municipality, would use a variety of means to contact its transit-dependent population in the event of an emergency. These include Spanish- and Viet namese-language radio and television stations, as well as the use of reverse 911 to reach largely Spanish-speaking as well as Vietnamese populations.
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From page 245... ...
None of the interviewees mentioned the potential role of transit in recov ery, most likely because few emergency evacuation plans are in place. Exercises and Drills Despite the lack of areawide evacuation plans, emergency managers in the Los Angeles UA conduct numerous exercises and drills.
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From page 246... ...
The Orange County Sheriff's Department has identified about 310 indi viduals in four affected cities in emergency planning zones who would 37274mvp186_288 246 11/24/08 12:21:13 PM
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From page 247... ...
Although area emergency managers question the feasibility of a mass evacuation of Los Angeles given the sheer numbers of people involved, the City and County of Los Angeles recognize the need for a broader approach to emergency planning and recently received a $125,000 Urban Area Secu rity Initiative grant from DHS to begin development of an evacuation plan for the region. Twenty-seven agencies are involved.
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From page 248... ...
However, there is limited contact between OCTA and MTA. The process of developing a regional evacuation plan could be the catalyst for forging closer links among area transit providers.
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From page 249... ...
In a disaster, the condition of the roadway and the extent of any damage could also constrain bus transport. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has identified major evacuation routes, and certain freeway lanes have been dedicated for ingress of emergency vehi cles.
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From page 250... ...
The multiplicity of agencies that need to be involved -- city and county emergency managers; city and county fire departments; city, county, and state police; MTA and other area transit providers; local school districts; the Red Cross; and Caltrans and the California OES -- necessitates a much more substantial and sustained level of effort. MTA does have some dis cretionary funds to support emergency response -- the CEO can use up to $250,000 without board approval.
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From page 251... ...
Whereas the City of Los Angeles DOT consid ers itself a first responder primarily because of its responsibility for traffic management in the city, the role of MTA and OCTA is to provide support and coordinate the necessary transportation resources, including transit, in response to an emergency event and potential evacuation. MTA has a system for communicating with other area transit providers in an emer gency, and communications between OCTA and the Orange County DES are fully interoperable.
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From page 252... ...
Developing a realistic regional evacuation plan for a major metropoli tan area of the size and jurisdictional complexity of Los Angeles, probably matched only by New York and possibly Chicago, is another major challenge. A good place to start would be to work with a manageable scenario, such as a plan for evacuating downtown Los Angeles, and involve the key players, including transit agencies, in the plan development.
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From page 253... ...
(lead) Arnold Howitt Evelyn Blumenberg Nancy Humphrey Briefings Aram Sahakian, Transportation Engineer, Special Traffic Operations Division; John Fong, Director of Administration; Vincent Lorenzo, Safety and Security Coordinator; David Rzepinski, Director of Transit Operations, Department of Transportation, City of Los Angeles Hector Guerro, Manager, Rail Operations Control; Stephen Rank, Assistant Operations Control Manager, Bus Operations; Roman Alacorn, Director, Bus and Rail Operations Control; Thomas Eng, Corporate Safety Manager, Los Angeles Metropolitan Trans portation Authority Beth McCormick, General Manager, Bus Operations, Orange County Transit Authority, and Lieutenant James Rudy, Chief of Transit Police Services, Orange County Sheriff Coroner Department Robert Spears, Director of Emergency Services, and David Palmer, Deputy Branch Direc tor, Transportation Branch, Los Angeles Unified School District Jamie Becerra, Director of Safety and Security, Foothill Transit Denise Tyrell, Public Information Officer, and Gray Crary, Assistant Executive Officer, Operating Services, Metrolink Jeanne O'Donnell, Program Specialist, Office of Emergency Management, County of Los Angeles; and Paul Hanley, Sergeant; Ronald Marquez, Motor Sergeant; and Jenny Bethune, Lieutenant; County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Captain Steve Snyder, Emergency Management, Santa Ana Fire Department Larry Meyerhofer, Planning Division Chief, and Eric Baumgartner, Emergency Prepared ness Coordinator, Emergency Preparedness Department, City of Los Angeles Donald Pinegar, Deputy Regional Administrator, Governor's Office of Emergency Services, State of California 37274mvp186_288 253 11/24/08 12:21:14 PM
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June 2005. 2. Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department.
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From page 255... ...
This population is spread out over 802 square miles, the 17th-largest land area of the 38 UAs studied. Population density is high, however, in vulnerable coastal areas, particularly in Pinellas County, where many homes and hotels are located on a barrier 72 D ata on UA population, land area, and population density were drawn from the U.S.
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From page 256... ...
Hillsborough County, to the east, is located at the head of Tampa Bay, which funnels storm surge into exposed areas dur ing a hurricane. If Pinellas County residents have to evacuate, they must use the three major bridges heading east to Hillsborough County.
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From page 257... ...
Wheelchair Transport, a private company, also provides service through its fleet of 80 vans, primarily for residents of assisted living facilities and skilled nursing homes in Pinellas County. The Pinellas County School District oper ates a fleet of 810 school buses, 110 of which are wheelchair lift capable, that also play an important role in emergency evacuations.
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From page 258... ...
In accordance with Florida law, all evacuation orders are mandatory.76 In Hillsborough County, major evacuation routes have been identified, and signs have been posted on these routes. Similarly, Pinellas County has identified and posted signs on evacuation routes, but there are only a few major roads out of the county.
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From page 259... ...
A terrorist incident is also a possibility given the presence of an Air Force base in Hillsborough County and other targets of opportunity in the Tampa UA. Because hurricanes are a recurring hazard, likely to involve at least a partial evacuation of area residents, both Hillsborough and Pinellas Coun ties have prepared detailed hurricane evacuation plans.
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From page 260... ...
Because about one-fifth of the school bus fleet is wheel chair accessible, school buses would also be used to transport residents to special-needs shelters. In an emergency, all transit services, which are county operations, are controlled by the Hillsborough County DEM, with vehicle dispatch handled from the EOC.
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From page 261... ...
Both PSTA and school buses would be coordinated and dispatched through the EOC. Similar to the Hills borough County DEM, the Pinellas County DEM believes that the number of buses is adequate to meet demand in an emergency evacuation.
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From page 262... ...
In Pinellas County, the DEM has this responsibility. Hillsborough County has four special needs shelters, including one designed specifically for children.
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From page 263... ...
The Pinellas County Department of Human Resources has arranged for special school bus transport for the homeless, and two to three of the shelters are "homeless friendly." Human Resources also works with the Homeless Coalition to post information about emergency trans port and shelters at area soup kitchens and hostels. 83 T he analysis assumed that 66 percent of Sunshine Lines vans and 70 percent of wheelchair-capable school buses would be available on the basis of driver and maintenance requirements.
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From page 264... ...
In Hillsborough County, the DEM would take control of county-operated transit and dispatch Hartline, Sunshine Lines, and school buses and vans directly from the EOC. In summary, both local transit agencies and school boards have been represented in emergency planning and operations for many years and would play well-defined roles in an emergency evacuation.
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From page 265... ...
In Hillsborough County, for exam ple, those who are registered are called three times to verify their need for transportation assistance and to inform them when equipment is on the way. The citizen information action centers also handle special-needs 37274mvp186_288 265 11/24/08 12:21:17 PM
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From page 266... ...
During subsequent follow-up, Pinellas County emergency management staff indicated that PSTA buses are regularly used to support incident response. For example, air-conditioned PSTA buses have been used to house residents of an assisted living facility temporarily during a fire or to transport the residents to another facility.
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From page 267... ...
The state collects $2.00 from homeowners insurance policies and $4.00 from business insurance pol icies annually, which is placed in an Emergency Management and Prepared ness Assistance Trust Fund. The funds are distributed annually in the form of competitive grants for emergency management, no larger than $200,000 per grant, to state or regional agencies, local governments, and private non profit organizations.85 Funding priorities currently include public education on disaster preparedness and recovery, coordination of relief efforts of state wide private-sector organizations, and improved training and operations capabilities of agencies with lead or support responsibilities in the Florida Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.
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From page 268... ...
District 7 of the state DOT, which has responsibility for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, has developed contraflow plans for I-4, eastward from the I-4/I275 junction in Hillsborough County, but those plans have not been tested yet in a real evacuation.86 I-4 is a particular choke point because in a hurricane, many travelers attempt to evacuate east to Orlando. The state DOT has several other programs that should help facilitate traffic flow in an evacuation.
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From page 269... ...
They are located at major Interstate interchanges in Hillsborough County and along evacua tion routes in Pinellas County. Law enforcement -- the Florida Highway Patrol, the Hillsborough County Sheriff, and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office -- would be involved in opening and policing the shelters.
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From page 270... ...
For example, when a property is purchased, the deed requires the property owner to develop an evacuation plan, which the emergency managers must review. New hotels located in vulnerable storm surge areas in Pinellas County must close down during a hurricane watch, which goes into effect 36 hours in advance of predicted hurricane landfall, and assist in relocating their guests who need transport.
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From page 271... ...
. The council is currently working with the state to develop an all-hazards, statewide emergency evacuation plan that would link all county emergency evacuation plans.
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From page 272... ...
Since the 1980s, county emergency managers across the state have been required by state law to establish voluntary special registries to help identify the medi cally impaired who are not in institutions but have special medical needs; special-needs shelters are to be made available, and their staffing and med ical management are the responsibility of county health departments.93 The role of transit and school bus operators is to transport ambulatory and wheelchair-bound special-needs populations to these shelters. When a mandatory evacuation is declared, Hillsborough and Pinellas County transit operators also play a role in transporting the disadvantaged and the homeless, as well as those in the general population who lack access 93 S ince Hurricane Katrina, more attention has been focused on meeting the needs of those with disabilities.
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From page 273... ...
Strong storm surge accompanying a severe hurricane would compound the problem, flooding local roads and bridge approaches and further hindering bus and vehicular traffic. For example, Pinellas County would have only one land-based evacuation route should the four bridges out of the county be shut down because of winds or high water.
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From page 274... ...
Kenneth Brown Nancy Humphrey Briefings Pinellas County David MacNamee, Emergency Management Coordinator, and Gregory Lindgren, Pinellas County Emergency Management Robert Ballou, St. Petersburg Emergency Management Office William Vola, Clearwater Emergency Management Stephen Fravel, Pinellas County EMS and Fire Administration Richard Stiff, St.
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and Steven Ayers (Administration) , Hillsborough County Schools Sandra Sroka, Hillsborough County ADA Liaison Brenda Martin, LifePath Hospice Joseph DiDomenico, Self Reliance Judi Knight, American Red Cross Samuel Harris, Tampa Housing Authority Ryan Pedigo, Hillsborough County Health Department Michael McCarthy, Hillsborough County Public Works Department/Traffic State of Florida Ronald Anderson, District Emergency Coordination Officer, Florida Department of Transportation, District 7 37274mvp186_288 275 11/24/08 12:21:18 PM
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2. Hillsborough County Department of Health and Hillsborough County Emergency Management.
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Key Terms
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