Real-time Data for Hurricane Evacuation in Texas
Real-time Data for Hurricane Evacuation in Texas

Author: Darrell W. Borchardt

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13:

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In September 2005, the threat of Hurricane Rita to the Houston-Galveston region resulted in the evacuation of more than one million persons from the Texas coastal and urban areas. This concentration of evacuees overloaded all routes leaving the Houston area, resulting in traffic queues on freeways as long as 36-hours. While traffic and emergency management personnel had access to real-time traffic information in the urban areas, no such information was available in rural areas where the roadways had restricted capacity. There was clearly a need to expand video and traffic monitoring capabilities beyond the urban areas to allow for better traffic management in response to evacuations as well as normal traffic operations. HURREVAC is a restricted-use Internet based computer program used by government emergency managers to track hurricanes and assist in evacuation-related decision making. The program includes an ETIS (Environment Transport Integrated planning System) module included which allows for inclusion and access to real-time traffic information by emergency managers. This report documents attempts to complete the integration of the module with traffic data for Texas coastal regions. It also provides for general equipment and installation guidelines for deployment of video and sensor detection stations along hurricane evacuation routes. In addition, a list of recommended additional deployments of such monitoring equipment to allow for improved monitoring and managing of traffic during evacuation events in Texas.

Large-Scale Evacuation
Large-Scale Evacuation

Author: Michael K. Lindell

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2018-12-07

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1351645323

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Large-Scale Evacuation introduces the reader to the steps involved in evacuation modelling for towns and cities, from understanding the hazards that can require large-scale evacuations, through understanding how local officials decide to issue evacuation advisories and households decide whether to comply, to transportation simulation and traffic management strategies. The author team has been recognized internationally for their research and consulting experience in the field of evacuations. Collectively, they have 125 years of experience in evacuation, including more than 140 projects for federal and state agencies. The text explains how to model evacuations that use the road transportation network by combining perspectives from social scientists and transportation engineers, fields that have commonly approached evacuation modelling from distinctly different perspectives. In doing so, it offers a step-by-step guide through the key questions needed to model an evacuation and its impacts to the evacuation route system as well as evacuation management strategies for influencing demand and expanding capacity. The authors also demonstrate how to simulate the resulting traffic and evacuation management strategies that can be used to facilitate evacuee movement and reduce unnecessary demand. Case studies, which identify key points to analyze in an evacuation plan, discuss evacuation termination and re-entry, and highlight challenges that someone developing an evacuation plan or model should expect, are also included. This textbook will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and advanced students.

Survey Analysis for Evacuee Preferences on Real-time Traffic Monitoring Systems in Texas
Survey Analysis for Evacuee Preferences on Real-time Traffic Monitoring Systems in Texas

Author: Kangni Jiang

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Relocating large populations from at-risk locations to safe areas using existing road networks in a timely manner is a challenge faced by many transportation agencies in regions exposed to hurricanes. Residents may react disparately to evacuation orders based on their past experiences and the information that they receive. Real-time traffic monitoring devices may assist with evacuations by alerting operators to traffic congestion or roadway incidents such as disabled vehicles, which may block evacuation routes and impact the safety and efficiency of the evacuation event. Evacuees may rely on real-time traffic information to make evacuation decisions and select their routes and destinations. To better understand their perceptions and usage of traffic monitoring devices during past hurricane evacuations, an online survey was distributed via email and social media, targeting Texas residents who were exposed to previous hurricane events in the state. Survey questions were designed to learn about the demographics of evacuees, common issues encountered during past Texas hurricane evacuations, the usage of traffic monitoring devices, and suggestions for traffic monitoring system improvements. A total of 1,398 valid responses were received, and the results indicate that certain demographic groups may be more likely to evacuate compared to other groups. The results also suggest that improved traffic data quality and accessibility may increase the likelihood for residents to evacuate and improve evacuation efficiency

Mathematical Models for Evacuation Planning in Urban Areas
Mathematical Models for Evacuation Planning in Urban Areas

Author: Sarah Bretschneider

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-07-20

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 364228759X

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Disasters like floods, hurricanes, chemical or nuclear accidents may cause the necessity to evacuate the affected area. The evacuation of the urban area needs to be planned carefully. One issue is the reorganization of the traffic routing. Congested urban areas have usually complex street networks that are composed of many intersections with streets connecting them. The population density of a congested urban area is usually high and the street network is already used to capacity during rush hour traffic. The considered problem of this work is the reorganization of the traffic routing of an urban area for the case of an emergency mass evacuation. Especially aspects of the evacuation like safety, avoidance of delays and the total system travel time are taken into account. Combinatorial and graph theoretical aspects are adapted for the evacuation problem and highlight issues concerning especially conflicts within intersections. This work gives an extensive summary of literature of evacuation of urban areas. Mixed-integer linear programming models are developed for evacuation problems and heuristic algorithms are provided and tested.?

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING -Volume I
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING -Volume I

Author: Hilary I. Inyang

Publisher: EOLSS Publications

Published: 2009-10-16

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 1905839758

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Environmental Monitoring theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Environmental Monitoring is largely concerned with strategies in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, as well as in many circumstances in which human activities carry a risk of harmful effects on the natural environment.. All monitoring strategies and programmes on environment have reasons and justifications which are often designed to establish the current status of an environment or to establish trends in environmental parameters. The content of the Theme provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues that are great relevance to our world with respect to environmental monitoring. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs