Red = Weak (0-3 points) Yellow = Moderate (4-7 points) Green/Olive = Strong (8-10 points) Gray = N/A (Cities without publicly accessible evacuation plans) Credit: Florida Atlantic University
Key Points:
- Researchers found that evacuation plans in major cities are not bold enough to protect vulnerable citizens, such as the elderly and those who do not own cars.
- Only seven cities have implemented evacuation plans that adequately meet the needs of such populations.
- The researchers hope to develop a standard major cities can use to create evacuation plans that better serve the vulnerable populations.
In cities across the country, planners implement emergency evacuation plans to safely remove residents from areas endangered by threats such as hurricanes and tornadoes. After Hurricane Katrina—a storm that caused nearly 2,000 deaths—it became apparent that existing evacuation plans were not bold enough to protect vulnerable populations. Now, researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have completed conducted a study to assess improvements in evacuation plans in major cities across the United States since 2005.
The researchers, who published their findings in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, analyzed post-Hurricane Katrina evacuation plans in 50 cities. The team developed a 5-point rubric system to evaluate improvements for vulnerable populations. The rubric evaluated plans for citizens on special needs registries and for those who do not own cars, among other factors.
Unfortunately, the study uncovered negligible progress in how evacuation plans serviced vulnerable populations.
“While it is promising that more cities are developing evacuation plans,” said John Renne, a professor at FAU, “overall, it remains disheartening that not every city was able to learn the lessons of not being prepared, especially for carless and vulnerable populations, as showcased to the nation during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”
The researchers created the Composite Evacuation Preparedness Rating System, a tool that provided the team with a clear picture of which cities’ evacuation plans showed improvements. Of the 50 cities analyzed, just seven were found to have implemented robust plans—Charlotte (NC), Cleveland, Jacksonville, Miami, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia.
Additionally, 20 cities achieved a moderate rating, six cities had a weak rating and 17 plans were not available or do not exist. Among the cities with plans not found include Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
The most comprehensive evacuation plans were found to have been adopted by coastal cities in areas commonly affected by hurricanes. This led researchers to conclude that plan improvements were often reactive, rather than proactive, and implemented only after the occurrence of a natural disaster.
The research team’s goal is to use its findings to develop a standard evacuation plan model that addresses the needs of vulnerable populations.
“In answer to the question we posed in our paper, ‘what has America learned since Hurricane Katrina?’—the answer based on our findings is clearly, NOT ENOUGH,” said Renne.