Transportation for evacuations: The variation in planning between urban and rural cities

Authors

  • Natalie Easterday, BS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2008.0037

Keywords:

emergency management, transportation, evacuation, rural, urban, planning

Abstract

A city’s emergency operation plan (EOP) establishes the framework for which all disaster-related activities will be administered. Seven communities’ EOPs were assessed to explore potential planning differences between urban and rural cities. Four urban and three rural communities were selected from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V, VII, and VIII. The EOPs of the selected cities were evaluated against a comprehensive list of questions that explored pre-evacuation planning, operations, roles and responsibilities, communication, and postevacuation return. Within each category, the questions probed for the roles of public transportation in disaster situations. The results yielded several parallels between urban and rural communities in general evacuation planning, and these differences were not based on the city size. From this information, six suggested best practices were developed regarding the role of public transportation in emergency management.

Author Biography

Natalie Easterday, BS

Fall 2008 Emergency Management Masters Candidate North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.

References

Regional Operations Homepage: US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Available at http://www.fema.gov/about/regions/index.shtm. Accessed July 4, 2007.

Decennial Census. US Census Bureau: Available at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=DEC&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=. Accessed July 4, 2007.

City of Indianapolis, Indiana. “undated.” Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Available at http://www.indygov.org/NR/rdonlyres/CC4E65FC-436A-403C-B14A-3CB47CC7BFB5/0/CEMP.pdf. Accessed July 1, 2007.

City of Kansas City, Missouri. 2006. Evacuation and Transportation Services Plan. Available at http://www.kcmo.org/oem/evacplan.pdf. Assessed July 1, 2007.

City of Boulder, Colorado. “undated.” Emergency Operations Plan. Available at http://www.bouldercounty.org/sheriff/pdf/oem/emerops.pdf. Assessed July 1, 2007.

City of Provo, Utah. 2004. General Evacuation Plan. Available at http://www.provo.org/files/police/04evacbooklet%20map.pdf. Assessed July 1, 2007.

City of Centralia, Illinois. 2000. Emergency Disaster Plan. Available at http://www.city.centralia.il.us/index.pl?id=4033. Assessed July 1, 2007.

City of Hibbing, Minnesota. 2005. Emergency Operations Plan. Available at http://www.hibbing.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B5882A3B3-FC03-47D4-B013-AEFA18E30E7F%7D&DE=%7BD6210DF3-073D-4CBE-86B5-0ACF38349499%7D. Assessed July 1, 2007.

City of Ankeny, Iowa. 2007. Emergency Operation Plan. Available at http://www.ankenyiowa.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1787. Assessed July 1, 2007.

Published

09/01/2008

How to Cite

Easterday, BS, N. “Transportation for Evacuations: The Variation in Planning Between Urban and Rural Cities”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 6, no. 5, Sept. 2008, pp. 51-56, doi:10.5055/jem.2008.0037.