Changing Logistics of Evacuation Transportation in Hazardous Settings During COVID-19

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

DOI

10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000506

Publication Title

Natural Hazards Review

Volume

22

Issue

3

Pages

1-9

Abstract

The logistics of public-sponsored evacuation include transportation assets, personnel, and infrastructure. Effective orchestration leading up to a severe weather event is a complex undertaking requiring capacity that is matched to needs. However, under the compound hurricane-pandemic scenario, the demands for evacuation assistance and the capacity to meet demands change. Pre-event planning must be adjusted and transit modified to reduce risks posed to evacuees and essential workers. This study explores how visualizations of redistributed vulnerability and transportation resources influence planning. The research identifies how transportation, emergency management, and public health officials are adapting hurricane evacuation resources during the COVID-19 pandemic using original data from compound hazard workshops and participatory stakeholder focus groups. Findings show that by the peak of hurricane season, local evacuation recommendations were favored by officials, contracts were in place for noncongregate options, and public resources were adjusted to account for those requiring congregate sheltering. A need remained for coordinating interjurisdictional information about real-time weather, resources, staffing, and traffic as well as local knowledge of roadway flooding with ongoing hazard planning.

Comments

Copyright - © 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers

Link included with the permission of the publisher.

ORCID

0000-0001-8263-141X (Hill), 0000-0003-3623-8849(Hutton), 0000-0002-1612-8805 (Whytlaw), 0000-0003-3599-1417 (Yusuf), 0000-0002-0472-3068 (Behr), 0000-0002-8637-5967 (Diaz)

Original Publication Citation

Hill, S., Hutton, N. S., Whytlaw, J. L., Juita-Elena, Y., Behr, J. G., Landaeta, E., & Diaz, R. (2021). Changing logistics of evacuation transportation in hazardous settings during COVID-19. Natural Hazards Review, 22(3), 1-9, Article 04021029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000506

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