Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWA-HOP-08-014

4. Title and Subtitle

Case Studies
Assessment of the State of the Practice and State of the Art in Evacuation Transportation Management

5. Report Date

February 2006

6.  Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

Stephanie Wilson-Goure, Nancy Houston, Andrea Vann Easton

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Booz Allen Hamilton
8283 Greensboro Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-01-00183

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

HOTO, FHWA

15. Supplementary Notes

Kimberly Vasconez, FHWA, Office of Operations, Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR). Document was prepared by Booz Allen Hamilton under contract to FHWA.

16. Abstract

Much of what is known about evacuations is based on preparations for incidents, such as hurricanes, for which there is advance warning. With advance warning, evacuations can be planned and managed using procedures and systems that have been developed as a result of extensive and methodical pre-planning. This approach, however, does not adequately support management of incidents when there is no advance warning or when conditions are changing rapidly. Evacuations in response to these types of incidents tend to be monitored, but not well managed. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognized the importance of and need for new tools and processes to help agencies plan for and manage evacuations where there is little or no advanced warning. Consequently, the FHWA initiated a project to assess the state of the practice and state of the art in evacuation transportation management.

This report was prepared to document four case studies regarding no-notice evacuations from a transportation point of view:

• El Dorado, Arkansas, hazardous material fire
• Graniteville, South Carolina, chlorine gas incident
• South Salt Lake City, Utah, hazardous chemical leak from a tanker car
• Big Bear Valley, California wildfires.

The intent of the case studies is to identify commonalities and unique distinctions among the cross-section of incidents to identify successes, lessons learned, and best practices to provide guidance to agencies in planning for and managing evacuations including transportation, public safety and other public organizations with a role in managing evacuations.

17. Key Words

Evacuations, No-notice evacuations, Special needs, Best practices, Lessons learned, Transit, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified.

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

Unclassified.

21. No. of Pages

150

22. Price