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).