Emergency evacuation planning policy for carless and vulnerable populations in the United States and United Kingdom

Abstract

Evacuation planning and policy in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) exhibit similarities and differences as both nations consist of an auto-dominated society with strong local government traditions related to emergency planning. This paper draws upon focus groups in five major cities in the US and interviews conducted in the UK. This paper examines the extent to which national policy in both countries addresses large-scale, multimodal emergency evacuation planning for carless and vulnerable populations. It also examines the barriers to effective emergency evacuation planning for these populations. The US could benefit from a policy framework established in the UK, which on paper provides a robust top-down and bottom-up approach that includes local, regional and national resilience forums to coordinate emergency planning activities. While the UK policy framework looks ideal on paper, the political reality is that a ruling party had ignored planning during the time leading up to the interviews in 2013. The UK could learn from the on-the-ground experiences from US disasters, which can strike anywhere. The study draws lessons from the US and UK and identifies five barriers to effective emergency evacuation planning. Suggested recommendations seek to promote effective policy and planning for evacuation planning for carless and vulnerable populations.