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SECTION 1
Introduction
Background
September 11, 2001. Northeast Blackout. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Wildfires in the West.
Tornadoes in the Midwest. Flooding in New England and the upper Midwest. Threat of pan-
demic influenza. Paralyzing snow and ice storms.
The nation's emergency preparedness and response framework is being challenged by the
more extensive all-hazards definition of emergency. At all levels of government, practices in
place to plan for and respond to emergencies have had to evolve rapidly, driven by the chang-
ing risk environment, emergency technology, and new policy direction at both state and
federal levels.
At the state level, perhaps no agency is more affected by these changes than the transportation
agency.1 No longer are these agencies primarily focused on construction and maintenance of the
infrastructure, they are assuming greater responsibility for large-scale evacuations in response
to natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. They are also being asked to establish and
assume new roles and systems to address no-notice evacuations and situations requiring limited
mobility (e.g., shelter-in-place/quarantine) such as responding to biological outbreaks, epi-
demics, pandemics, and the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax attacks that followed, a newly formed
AASHTO Security Task Force (now the Special Committee on Transportation Security and
Emergency Management--SCOTSEM), in cooperation with the FHWA and with funding from
NCHRP Project 20-07, Task 151A, produced A Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response
Plans for Terrorist Incidents (the 2002 Guide, AASHTO, 2002). The 2002 Guide clearly responded
to the threat of terrorism.
Subsequently, the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administra-
tion (TSA), and the U.S. Coast Guard, became the focal point for federal emergency response.
One of DHS's first actions was to consolidate the emergency planning/emergency response
1
State transportation agencies, often Departments of Transportation (DOTs), are those agencies responsible for
major components of a state's transportation system. Some states have separate agencies responsible for different
transportation modes--highways, transit, rail, aviation, ports. Other agencies may support the transportation
agency, such as traffic enforcement and regulation of motor carriers, which may have transportation-related
security needs. When state transportation agency is used in this Guide, it generally applies to transportation
agencies, not just at the state level, but also to territorial, multi-regional, local (county and city), and tribal
authorities. Nongovernment organizations and private-sector stakeholders involved in emergency response
will also find the guidance useful.
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