John Boettcher – Manager of Natural Hazard Plans
South Carolina Emergency Management Division
1100 Fish Hatchery Road West
Columbia SC 29172
Monday, April 17, 2006
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Evacuation Plan Status: What is the status of your agency’s existing evacuation plan? For example, when was it first developed and when was it last revised? Has it ever been used in an actual emergency situation? Who has the authority to issue evacuation orders?
The State of South Carolina’s current Hurricane Response Plan, which includes an evacuation plan, was developed in 2000. The Plan has been revised through various exercises and discussions at least twice every year. There were two hurricanes in 2004 and one in 2005 during which the plan was activated. During these three actual events, evacuations were conducted. In South Carolina, the governor has the authority to issue an evacuation order while the Emergency Traffic Management Planning Cell (ESF 16) is the primary planner and coordinator of evacuations. -
Scope of the Plan: What is the scope of the plan with regard to geographic coverage, agency involvement, and presence of transportation elements? Are plans for evacuation transportation management separate from or a part of the general emergency plan?
In addition to the coastal counties directly subject to hurricanes, the counties along evacuation routes are also covered in the evacuation plan. In all, 26 counties are covered in the Hurricane Response evacuation plan. Three agencies—SCDOT, SCEMD, and SC Highway Patrol—cooperatively developed the plan. During evacuation, many law enforcement agencies, such as SC Highway Patrol, Department of Natural Resource, National Guard, Department of Forestry, and other county and municipal agencies are also involved. SCDOT, SCEMD, and SC Highway Patrol play important roles during evacuation by providing traffic management equipment, sending staff on site to manage traffic, operating ITS devices, and integrating all hurricane response operations. The evacuation plan was designed for hurricane response, but can be easily tailored to address evacuation triggered by other emergencies such as HazMat or earthquake. -
Plan Scenarios: What types of scenarios are the plans meant to address? Can they be applied to no-notice, advance-notice, and/or special event emergency evacuations? Do they have provisions for naturally occurring, accidental, and/or terrorist events?
As stated in question 2, the plan was primarily prepared for hurricane events, but can be adapted to no-notice or advance-notice emergencies such as HazMat, WMD, or earthquake. The ESF 16 team is in charge of tailoring the plan to suit other types of disasters. -
Capacity Needs and Availability: Have any models, computer simulations, or other calculations been performed to estimate capacity needs of the transportation system during an evacuation? How much additional capacity is expected to result from emergency measures that are to be put in place (e.g., contraflow lanes, signal pattern changes)?
SCEMD uses a traffic demand forecasting spreadsheet model. The model collects the demographic information from all evacuation covered counties, calculates the people to be evacuated, and converts the people to vehicle volume. The volume is then assigned to each evacuation route and evacuation zone to calculate the time needed for the evacuation. Road reversal and contraflow situations can also be calculated by model. In addition to the traffic demand forecasting model used by the SCEMD, SCDOT also has a traffic flow model which specifically analyzes the loading and unloading time of road reversal and contraflow situation, and identifies potential bottlenecks. Route reversal refers setting both highway directions to one direction while contraflow means changing three of the four lanes to the primary evacuation direction while leaving one lane in the original direction. SCDOT also has a plan in place for signal changes, such as setting signals ever-green or flashing yellow during evacuation. -
Traffic Control Practices: What is the role of transportation agencies in traffic management and control? What traffic control practices are designated by the plan for use in an evacuation? Examples include pre-established evacuation routes, contraflow, evacuation phasing, regulation of type or number of vehicles (including transit), optimization of signal patterns and lane use, mitigation of work zone impacts, and suspension of tolls and fares.
ESF 16 is the primary traffic management function during evacuation. ITS technologies, such as electronic message signs and HAR, are applied extensively during evacuation traffic management. ESF 16 identified 600 key intersections as traffic control points. During evacuation, traffic management staff will be deployed to these points during the entire evacuation. Traffic signal timing plans can be modified during an evacuation. Roadways are marked by cones and barriers to indicate it as an evacuation route. Evacuation routes are preplanned and re-evaluated every year. The public is well informed regarding these evacuation routes.
The evacuation is phased for barrier islands. There is no regulation regarding type of vehicles in evacuation. Though not strictly regulated, suspending tolls is the common practice. -
Role of ITS: What intelligent transportation system (ITS) components and other related traffic management tools are used in the evacuation plan? How, when, and why are they each used as part of the evacuation plan? Do you have redundant systems? Can you operate the ITS elements from any location other than the TMC? Examples of ITS components include surveillance cameras, variable message signs (VMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), 511 or other traveler information systems (phone and/or Web), interconnected traffic signal systems, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, ramp metering, traffic signal priority for buses, and vehicle detection systems.
All state-of-practice ITS devices are used. CCTV cameras provide real-time monitoring of evacuation condition. Evacuation information is promptly provided to the public through electronic message signs. Vehicle speed is detected by a side-fire radar system. Road reversal and contraflow are both assisted by ITS operations. All this information is transmitted to the TMC and goes through ESF 16 to share with all agencies involved in the evacuation.
Currently, SC does not have a 511 system. -
Resources and Materials: What is the role of transportation agencies in identifying resource needs and in providing resources or materials? How do they assist in transportation service coordination?
Resource coordination is conducted with all agencies and is specified in the plan. SCDOT has the largest inventory of traffic equipment. Each year, SCDOT examines the plan and reevaluates the level of resources that will be required during evacuation. -
Evacuation Control, Coordination, and Management: Is an incident command system (ICS) used? How are transportation needs and resources, and the role of transportation agencies, integrated into the ICS? How are operations coordinated between TMCs, transit agencies, EOCs, and other agencies? Do you have plans for the re-entry of evacuees after the evacuation? How do you accommodate special needs evacuees (seniors, nursing home residents, hospital patients, inmates, people with pets, etc.)?
An ICS is used. It is primarily controlled by SC Highway Patrol. The TMC follows the ICS. Operations are coordinated through pre-hurricane season meetings, telephone, radio, staff physical presence and any other available means. Re-entry plans are made by each county. People with special needs are evacuated by the agency in charge of their normal management, but SCEMD will possibly provide assistance as requested. -
Communications Between Agencies: What are the communications protocols between agencies? Are there established procedures for disseminating information quickly and accurately to personnel?
All of the agencies involved in evacuation are organized into function categories. The SCEMD has procedures in place to notify the public. -
Communications with Evacuees: Is the public educated in advance about the evacuation procedures? What information is provided and how is the information disseminated? Do transportation agencies have a specific role in media coordination and traveler information dissemination, either before or during an evacuation? Is information coordinated between agencies and/or centralized before being delivered to the media?
Information for evacuees is disseminated through public Web sites, public radio, news releases, and other traditional media. SCDOT issues evacuation guidance through the field ITS devices. Information is coordinated through Public Affairs in the SCEMD before sending to the public. -
Testing and Training Procedures: How often are testing/training exercises conducted? Who do these exercises involve? What drill scenarios have been used?
All agencies involved in the evacuation attend tabletop discussions every year to identify things that need to be improved. Annually, SC Highway Patrol simulates the evacuation situation and road reversal. -
Evaluation of Exercises: What aspects of the evacuation plan were implemented well in drill situations, and what aspects of the plan were found to require improvement? What elements of the plan were most useful for a successful evacuation drill? What lessons have been learned as a result of these drills?
SCEMD indicated that the response time for SC SCDOT and Highway Patrol personnel deployment needs improvement. -
Evaluation of Evacuations: If the evacuation plan has ever been used in an actual evacuation, how successful was its implementation? To what extent was the evacuation simply monitored, rather than managed, by responding agencies? What aspects of the plan were implemented well in the actual emergency situation, and what aspects were found to require improvement? What elements of the plan were most useful for a successful evacuation?
The evacuation plan has been implemented for an actual event and has been very successful. The plan is proactively managed so that all types of incidents during evacuation can be addressed. Potential challenges result when a storm arrives earlier than forecasted and the evacuation needs to be conducted immediately.
ITS, the evacuation path design, and ESF 16 coordination are the most critical factors to the success of evacuation -
After-Action Report: What is the process for post-evacuation evaluation? Is the post-incident review a collaborative effort among all agencies that were involved?
Each agency is required to perform an internal review of the evacuation. Shortly after the evacuation, a formal review compiles lessons learned from all of the agencies. -
Incorporation of Lessons Learned: Have the lessons learned in testing/training exercises and in real evacuations resulted in revisions to the emergency evacuation plan? Have the lessons learned resulted in changes in personnel training?
Yes. - Conclusions: What specific recommendations do you have regarding management of traffic during evacuations for another agency developing or improving upon their own emergency evacuation plans?
SCEMD indicated that it is very important to develop a Nationwide Real Time Emergency Traffic Management System, which utilizes surveillance technologies to provide real-time evacuation information to all the participating agencies. SCEMD suggests FHWA adopt this strategy nationally for all kinds of disaster response and other large-scale event management.
June 26, 2006
Publication #FHWA-HOP-08-016
