Transportation's Role in Emergency Evacuation and Reentry (2009)

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97 APPENDIX C SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

98 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD (TRB) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Project 20-5, Topic 39-05 Transportation’s Role in Emergency Evacuation and Re-entry Name of Respondent: ___________________________________________________________ Agency: ______________________________________________________________________ Title: ________________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone No: ___________________________ Best time to call: ______________________ FAX: ________________________________________________________________________ E-mail address: ________________________________________________________________ Overview and Instructions The information collected will be used to develop a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) synthesis on “Transportation’s Role in Emergency Evacuation and Re-entry.” If you or your agency have used, studied, considered, or have an opinion on evacuation and/or re-entry, please review and respond to this survey. During an emergency evacuation, State and local transportation resources are critical and relied upon by emergency responders. Many transportation organizations have experiences and plans relating to emergency evacuation, from which other transportation organizations can learn. However, current practices and lessons learned involving transportation’s role in emergency evacuations and reentry have yet to be documented. The main purpose of this survey is to develop a report on current practices and suggestions for improving future practice. The results may also be used to help in the development of plans and simulation models for the evacuation of major urban areas. This questionnaire should be completed by that person(s) with knowledge of your organization’s activities related to emergency evacuations and re-entry plans. Please answer as many of the following questions as possible, attaching additional sheets if necessary. Send copies of any related material and your completed questionnaire by April 30th, 2008 to: Brian Wolshon Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Fax: (225) 578-4945 If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Brian Wolshon (225) 578-5247 or e-mail: brian@rsip.lsu.edu. WE APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSE—THANK YOU

99 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD (TRB) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Project 20-5, Topic 39-05 Transportation’s role in Emergency Evacuation and Re-entry Preparedness, Planning and Policy 1. Please select all that apply to your agency: State Regional City Emergency Management Transportation Agency 2. Does your agency have an Emergency Operation Plan? Yes No If yes, is your plan written in the Annex Format or the Emergency Support Function Format? Annex Emergency Support Function Other: 3. In your Emergency Operations Plan please identify the roles of the following agencies for Emergency Support Function 1 – Evacuation and Transportation: (Select all that apply) Coordinating Lead Supporting Agency Agency Agency N/A Emergency Management Transportation Agency National Guard Law Enforcement 4. What type of evacuation scenarios currently are included in your agency’s Emergency Operations Plan: (Select all that apply) Hurricanes Tornadoes Wildfire Flood Fire Chemical Radiological Release Dam/Levee Failure Other: 5. If someone refuses to evacuate during a mandatory evacuation, would you remove them forcibly? Yes No If yes, does your transportation agency have a role in the plan? Yes No If yes, please explain their role:

100 6. What are the levels of evacuation in your jurisdiction? Mandatory Voluntary Other: 7. Does your Emergency Operations Plan include considerations for evacuating people with animals? (Select all that apply) Yes No Pets Service Companion Livestock Other: 8. Does your Emergency Operations Plan include considerations for sheltering people with animals? Yes No Pets Service Companion Livestock Other: 9. What transportation modes are utilized in your Emergency Operations Plan: (Select all that apply) Road Networks Rail Air Water Pedestrian School Buses Military Buses Military Vehicles Commercial Buses Transit Buses Other: 10. Does your plan address providing en route services during an evacuation once an order is given? Emergency Transportation Agriculture City Management Agency Agency Government Mobile Fuel Wrecker Water Food Other: 11. Is your agency’s plan part of a broader regional or statewide evacuation plan? Regional Statewide Single Jurisdiction 12. Does your plan include a Phased Evacuation? Yes No

101 13. Does your plan call for contraflow operations? Yes No If yes, who makes the decision to implement and terminate contra-flow? Lead Elected Official Director of Emergency Management Agency Lead Transportation Official Lead Law Enforcement Official Adjutant General Other: How much preparation time is required to implement contraflow from the time the decision is made until it is ready to be executed? 1–4 hours 4–8 hours 8–12 hours 12–24 hours 24+ hours What are your jurisdictions criteria for the termination of contraflow? 14. What barriers/obstacles to coordination and planning has your agency encountered? 15. Has your jurisdiction identified all resources using the FEMA Typed Resource Definitions? Yes No Has your transportation agency typed all of your available resources? Yes No 16. Is your jurisdiction using a software system to manage your resources? Yes No If yes, which software system: IRIS WebEOC E-Team RIMS Other: 17. Please identify what types of transportation resources are currently available for emergency evacuation (Examples are transit buses, school buses, barricades, electronic road signs): 1. ______________________ 4. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 5. ______________________ 3. ______________________ 6. ______________________ What resources used for evacuations are most critical? ______________________

102 Do you think your plan and available resources for evacuations are adequate to support a large scale evacuation of your jurisdiction? Yes No If no, what are additional resources or support is required? Please describe the process your agency uses to prepare resources in advance? 18. Does your jurisdiction conduct exercises on evacuations? Yes No If yes, is your transportation agency included in the exercises? Yes No Do your exercises follow the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program? Yes No Are transportation agencies reimbursed for expenses incurred from participating in the exercise? Yes No 19. Does your agency have criteria for defining a “successful” evacuation of your jurisdiction? Yes No If yes, what is the criterion/criteria: (Select all that apply) Total number of evacuees moved Reduced travel times High travel speeds Avoidance of injury/fatalities Positive public feedback/media reports Effective communications network Other: Direction and Control 20. Who is responsible for making the decision that a large scale evacuation order will be given for your Jurisdiction? Chief Elected/Governing Official Unified Command Single Agency

103 Please explain: (For example, in some states a unified command consisting of agency heads makes a recommendation to the governor, who ultimately makes the final decision.) Once an Evacuation Order has been issued, who is responsible for overall execution of the order? Emergency Management Transportation Agency Law Enforcement National Guard Other: 21. What is the role of the transportation agency in your Emergency Operations Plan? Yes No Official and included in the plan: Ad hoc or unofficial: 22. Are contracts currently in place to assist with evacuations? Yes No If yes, who is responsible for managing the contract? Transportation Agency Emergency Management Administrative Agency Other: If yes, what types of contracts are currently in place? (Select all that apply) Transit Buses School Buses Commercial Buses Ambulances Other: 23. Does your jurisdiction have a timeline/decision matrix for committing resources and calling for evacuations? Yes No Committing Resources: Calling for Evacuations: If yes, can we contact your agency to get a copy of your evacuation timeline? Yes No If yes, can you please explain what factors are considered in which timelines/decision points are made to commit resources or order evacuations (Examples would be Resources, Contracts, Hazard Location)?

104 24. One of the complex problems facing emergency management agencies is the fluid activity of sheltering and changing sheltering capacity. Does your plan allow for in vehicle communications with buses moving transportation dependent citizens once they are en route to a shelter? Yes No If yes, can you please explain who is responsible for communicating to the vehicles and how is it accomplished? 25. Has your jurisdiction conducted a large scale evacuation (50,000 or more citizens) within the last: (Select all that apply) Yes No 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years If yes, when did the evacuation occur and what hazard resulted in an evacuation being initiated? 26. Has your jurisdiction conducted an evacuation of an isolated community within the last two years:  (Select all that apply) Yes No 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years Evacuation and Mode Characterization 27. Does your plan address evacuating citizens with Special Needs? Yes No If yes, please identify which groups your plan addresses: (Select all that apply) Frail Elderly Nursing Homes Citizens using Home Health Hospitals Tourists Citizens without Transportation Homeless Persons with Disabilities Assist Living Facilities Other:

105 What % of your jurisdiction’s population would you estimate to be considered Special Needs? 1%–5% 6%–10% 11%–15% 16%–20% Greater than 20% 28. Does your plan allow citizens with Special Needs to register for assistance prior to an evacuation being ordered? Yes No If yes, what mechanism is in place that allows them to register with your agency (3-1-1 for example or a dedicated phone number): If yes, what percentage of the total special needs population in your jurisdiction, do you estimate registers? 1%–10% 11%–20% 21%–30% 31%–40% Greater than 41% What role does your transportation agency have with evacuating individuals with Special Needs? Picking Up and Transporting Registration Managing the Special Needs List Other: Does your transportation agency have a paratransit division to assist with evacuating individuals with Special Needs? Yes No 29. Does your plan have a City Assisted Evacuation Component (citizens without transportation)? Yes No If yes, does your plan call for multiple pick up points for citizens to report to that do not have the necessary means to evacuate themselves? Yes No If yes to either question, does your plan utilize a central location that serves as an evacuation center to manage your City Assisted Evacuation Component? Yes No What role does your transportation agency play in your City Assisted Evacuation Plan?

106 Communications and Public Information 30. What information and data is collected from the evacuation event? Travel Time Origin–Destination Time of Departure/Arrival Speed Volume Congestion/Delays Number of People Evacuated 31. What systems / methods does your agency use to collect data and or monitor evacuation processes? (Select all that apply) Video Surveillance Systems (CCTV) Vehicle Detection (loops, ATMS, etc) Automated Vehicle Locations (AVLs) Personal Observation Other: 32. How is information communicated from the evacuation location to the State Emergency Operations Center? Select all that apply: Analog Radio System Digital Radio System Telephone (land line) Reports submitted electronically Text Messaging Video Streaming P25 Compliant Radio System E-mail (Black Berry) Cellular Telephone Emergency Management Software (WebEOC, E-Team) Other: ____________________ 33. Does your jurisdiction have redundant communication systems in place to ensure multiple modes of communications are in place? Yes No 34. How are local communications being maintained with multiple agencies that are responsible for executing the evacuation process? Analog Radio System Digital Radio System Cellular Phone Service Reports submitted electronically Text Messaging E-mail (Blackberry) Emergency Notification Software Other: ____________________ 35. Does your transportation agency have adequate communications to communicate directly with law enforcement, emergency management, and National Guard personnel? Yes No

107 36. Does you jurisdiction have a public awareness campaign in which evacuation information is published and distributed to the citizenry? Yes No Hurricanes Tornados Wildfires Flood Fire Chemical Radiological release Dam / Levee Failures Other: If yes, please briefly describe your jurisdictions public awareness efforts? 37. How are evacuation warnings and evacuation related public information provided to the public and special facilities? Media–TV Media–Radio Media–Print Emergency Alert System Text Messaging Government Owned Radio Reverse 9-1-1 Loud Speakers Sirens Knocking on Doors Other: __________________________ 38. What public information and communication structures does your agency currently have in place to notify the public? Emergency Alert System Text Messaging Government Owned Radio Reverse 9-1-1 Sirens Other: __________________________ Reentry 39. Who is the lead agency in planning for reentry? Emergency Management Transportation Agency Law Enforcement National Guard Other: 40. Who is the lead agency in executing the reentry plan once the hazard has passed? Emergency Management Transportation Agency Law Enforcement National Guard Other:

108 41. What is your Transportation Agency’s role in preparing for reentry? Road Inspections/Assessments prior to Reentry Traffic Management Debris Removal Restoration of Traffic Control Restoration of Road Infrastructure Other: _______________________________________________ 42. If your transportation agency is not responsible for validating the safety of roads, who is: 43. Does your reentry plan include considerations for the following for re-entry? Credentialing/Placards Tiered Reentry (Emergency Services, Response Support, etc.) Look and Leave (policy to allow citizens to look at their damage and then leave due to lack of services)