What has America learned Since Hurricane Katrina? Evaluating evacuation plans for carless and vulnerable populations in 50 large cities across the United States

Abstract

This study reveals that only marginal improvements have occurred with respect to evacuation planning in America's 50 largest cities since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. The hurricane revealed a lack of preparedness, specifically to evacuate carless and vulnerable populations. This paper analyzes the state of evacuation planning in America's fifty largest cities in the twenty-teens and compares plans to those in the same cities a decade earlier. The paper also introduces an Evacuation Preparedness Rating System, which includes five dimensions, identified as best practices in evacuation planning for vulnerable populations. The dimensions examine each plan regarding 1. Special needs registries, 2. Specialized transportation plans for individuals with specific needs, 3. Pick-up location plan, 4. Multimodal evacuation plan, and 5. Pedestrian evacuation plan. The paper reports scores for each dimension and then presents a composite score for each city. This research lays the groundwork to guide practitioners and scholars on benchmarking and tracking the effectiveness of emergency evacuation plans across cities and over time with respect to evacuation plans for the most vulnerable members of society.