A System to Allow Orderly Evacuation of Cities During Airborne Release of Toxic Substances

Alexander E. MacDonald

NOAA Forecast Systems Lab

A presentation to the

Urban Meteorology Forum

September 22, 2004

Talk Summary

1. Thoughts on Orderly Evacuation of Cities

2. Reverse 911

3. System Description

4. Actions in Progress

Homeland Security: Everyone gets location specific evacuation instructions.

- Information Flow

Intellicast: Brand name of a reverse 911 system developed by Intrado, a company located in Longmont Colorado.

94% + households have a telephone

The telephone always is “ON”

Uses an existing, reliable networkTypically not affected by power

outages or adverse weatherSame as 9-1-1 network Intrado: 99% of US phones located within 30 ft

Why Telephone Notification

Intrado

• Intrado manages the nations 911 database– Over 210 million telephone records including wireline,

wireless, unlisted and unpublished numbers

• Through its database management, call routing and licensing arrangements with all major telephone companies manages 99% of all 911 emergency calls nationwide

• Identified by the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) as part of the nations critical infrastructure for emergency management and telecommunications

October 29, 2003, 1:30 pm. The Jamestown fire about 1 ½ mile from the Crestview Subdivision (where I live).

October 29, 3 pm. The Jamestown fire, after a run of five miles, enters the Crestview Subdivision, ½ mile from my house.

Specific Area Depiction of Reverse 911 Calls During Jamestown Fire

– Pre-planned• Map out flood plains,

areas around HazMat sites, chemical/petrol manufacturers, etc.

• Works with real time Telephone Number extracts within pre-planned areas

City Escape System

System Description

• Airborne Toxic Prediction Subsystem (x,y,t)

• Advanced City Scale Observing Subsystem

• Individual Notification System (Reverse 911, others)

• Evacuation Optimum Routing Subsystem

• Human Interaction and Control Subsystem

• Computing and Communications Subsystem

Actions In Progress

Several organizations building a system for DC area:

Dept of Homeland Security

NOAA DHS Program

National Weather Service

NOAA Forecast Systems Lab

NOAA Air Resources Lab

Intrado Corporation