It has been discovered that you can’t evacuate 2 million people in 2 days (despite all the post 9-11 preparations), if you let them take there own cars. Since I don’t like to criticize others without suggesting a solution, here are my thoughts. Don’t get me wrong Rita is bad, but had this been an emergency, where like FEMA steps in declares marital law I would have handled it differently. You can’t let people take cars and then hodgepodge drive away this has been proven since now thousands will have to wait out a Cat 3 Hurricane in there cars exposed on the highway. The best way to move lots of people is to bus them to a train yard, then use trains to evacuate them. First in passenger cars, then in box cars if needed, remember the government gives lot of money to Amtrak, let them do some work and pay it back. Then once most of the people are gone, bus the last of the people out on Greyhound, school, city buses.
Ok how much stuff can people take? Well, perhaps the nice FEMA people can provide either military-style duffels and/or reinforced boxes, (the boxes should fit a suitcase that is suitable for carry on inside, so people who show up with luggage can have their stuff just put inside) with a list of items that should be brought printed on the lid. If the evacuation is only for a couple days one box, more if it is longer. As the people board the train before they are separated from there stuff they should be given bracelets with barcodes that match barcodes on the boxes (the boxes should be numbered so power isn’t required to find their stuff, and the boxes should as have RFID tags so they can be found quickly since for transport stuff might have to be sent after the people are out either by truck or train. The boxes then should be sealed in tamper evident waterproof plastic right after being taken at the station, this will discourage thief and prevent the stuff from getting damaged if it rains or snows. Then the boxes are palletized for quick loading and unloading. While people are registering their belongings, any medical conditions and required medications should be noted so that info can linked to their tag. Children and special needs people coded to their parents or guardians and then thumb printed so if they lose or remove the bracelet they can be quickly IDed, I see no reason to incur the difficult or constitutional issues of fingerprinting everyone. This allows families to be linked to each other, so that families can be kept together, boarding priority determined, and if consent is needed for medical treatment the responsible person instantly IDed. They people might also be asked their preferred evacuation destination, so if it is possible requests can be honored. A smaller bag would be given out with the boxes for carry on items like pills, or small comfort items.
When I say train station I don’t mean the nice train stations, I mean train yards or places were train tracks cross large streets, perhaps embarkation point is the better term. Since after 1950 train travel in most of the country went away, once everyone got cars, so the train infrastructure is mostly dedicated to cargo transport and therefore passenger train stations won’t be able to handle the load. Then as people board the train they should be given a small pack with personal hygiene items, non-perishable food and bottled water. Once at the destination the people loaded straight on to buses and their things trucked in once the people are offloaded since milling people and forklifts are a bad combo! I feel that FEMA needs to talk to the Walmart and Amazon people about how handle the logistics since they could do a much better job, they even have the boxes. This method of evacuation is more efficient for natural disasters, since it is easier to fix one rail bed and track than a multilane road, and the track can carry more stuff than the road anyway.
Ok here is the how to handle a car based evacuation, which is just a bad idea. First off all loops in the city are closed, that forces people to exit on the nearest outbound road spreading the loads instead of everyone going one direction (if possible.) If there are 3 lanes each way the 5 lanes go away and one back reserved for returning buses and relief supply staging. Even 5 miles or so fueling/restroom/food/first aid stations set up, I suggest manning the stations with RedCross people and Army 92Fs since now is not a time to charge for fuel or food. Then, as traffic increases people on motorcycles/atv go up and down the rows of cars checking fuel levels, and the condition of the people and vehicle so that people can be directed to turn off at the appropriate station. I think a colored sticker would work nice since a red sticker would tell the station traffic people that they need in, and a yellow would indicate that if there is room they should come in. This prevents people from running out of fuel plus it reduces load on the permanent infrastructure, the stations should only have high octane gas and diesel, since it will make people feel good that they are getting premium gas, but more importantly cars that don’t require it can run on 91 octane, but cars that require 91 can’t run on 87, so it serves the most cars. The patrols would also quickly move broken down cars off the road, and if the car has to be left for later towing take the people to the nearest station for later busing. Don’t try to keep the traffic going 60, shoot for 25 or 30, this means cars will have to enter and leave the road at a controlled rate. Also, since people will likely have to stop at least once make a pamphlet of the various facilities available at the destination and maps of the city available , so they can quickly find their way once they arrive, and clear off the road. Depending on the type of emergency, people and materials should be moved as close to area as possible during the evacuation, that way after the emergency, the help for the people who don’t evacuate can be swiftly staged, and the area quickly secured to prevent lawlessness. Also as the city empties people should go around asking the remaining people to leave, if they refuse then the location marked and the person braceleted if possible, and any info about the person and their home noted, so they can be checked on afterwards, and if they need medical attention it can be quickly rendered, and any family notified of their condition.
To save money on damage claims for cars and irreplaceable belongings, a hybrid evacuation should be considered. This works by letting people drive their cars and whatever can be put in them out of the area that will be hardest hit, but not to a region that is considered safe for people. The people evacuate on trains and buses, and the cars are protected by earthen berms (the Army has the technology). I am not sure how good an idea this is but it protects both lives and property, so it is worth consideration. Beyond these simplistic thoughts I would require more detail about the specifics of the evacuation, but since each city can be planned in advance it is not impossible. I realize there are some constitutional issues with some of what I have suggested, but that is the only way to do it. If you are allowed to decide for yourself what to do, then don’t hold the government responsible when it fails. Also, if you read the act the created FEMA, you will see that everything I suggest is in their power.
No comments:
Post a Comment