Policy Process State Evacuation Policies

Most states have evacuation policies and plans in place, whether coastal or not. If one visits the websites of Virginia or Louisiana’s emergency preparedness divisions, he will find information on what to do in case of an emergency, what routes to follow, and guidelines for preparation. Included in the plans that are in place are guidelines for transportation in the event of an emergency that could be used by those people without cars. The state of Louisiana has an Emergency Operations Plan under the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. There are transportation provisions included in this plan. It outlines Emergency Support Function 1, which is the transportation provision, as saying “ESF 1 provides transportation out of a disaster area for people in need, and provides transportation essential to support emergency response in the event of a disaster” (Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, 2009). This function allows the state to identify transportation needs and coordination of state-owned and private industry transportation for evacuation purposes. Transportation will be allocated according to risk, with those high-risk people being served first. While the Department of Transportation and Development has the responsibility of implementing this function, there are many supporting agencies that will help carry it out. These include the Louisiana National Guard, the Louisiana State Police, the state Department of Health and Hospitals, and more. If, during the course of the emergency, transportation needs exceed those resources available, the coordinator must report to GOHSEP so it can seek more resources from the federal government. Throughout this whole process, records must be kept of the transportation used in order to receive reimbursements (GOHSEP, 2009).

The Commonwealth of Virginia has a similar office to handle emergency evacuations called the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). There are emergency services and disaster laws through this agency available for public viewing. There is mention of transportation and how it should be handled in these laws. According to the laws, the governor has the authority to authorize modes of transportation and routes in the event of an emergency (VDEM, 2008, p. 9). Virginia is also a part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which provides guidance for assistance between states. Transportation is addressed in this compact by saying that it can be requested from party states with written notice (VDEM, 2008, p. 26). VDEM also has an Emergency Operations Plan, with a specific section on hurricane evacuation. This plan addresses those people without cars, but leaves it up to each locality to make a plan to evacuate them (VDEM, 2009). It also requires each locality to develop a plan to relocate those people without transportation (VDEM, 2009).