No “contra-flow” for evacuations during state of emergencies

Nassau County Emergency Management
Volunteer Coordinator Paula Sellek
June 21, 2019 1:00 p.m.

DID YOU KNOW?

We will NOT do a CONTRA-FLOW for evacuations in our area!

We will NOT do contra-Flow (reverse roadway direction) for evacuations during a local state of emergency. Due to lessons learned over the years both locally and across the state, it is now a best practice to NOT reverse the directions of major roads along evacuation routes. Why? Our evacuation routes run through other counties who may also be evacuating. Different counties have differing roadway load capacities that could bottleneck at critical points. Additionally, our county butts up against state lines who may not be able to support contra- flow or they may be outside of the expected impact areas. For these and other reasons, we will not do contra-flow along evacuation routes. We may, however, IF DIRECTED BY THE STATE, open up the road shoulders in the current directions to allow more space for evacuees to travel along established evacuation routes.

Every storm is different which means EVERY evacuation will be different. We work to coordinate with other counties for the timing of evacuation messaging. When we anticipate a local impact, we will always begin pre-messaging encouraging those in critical evacuation zones (typically A, C, and F) to begin evacuating if they are able. Once a local state of emergency has been declared we will begin mandatory evacuations of these areas first, then follow with messaging for other zones who may be impacted. We do this because once the local state of emergency has been declared, those critical infrastructure entities (i.e. hospitals and nursing home facilities, etc.) will begin shutting down and evacuating making them unavailable for service. We want to be evacuated BEFORE the onset of tropical storm force winds which require us to close down our bridges (sustained winds above 39 mph) because we will then pull our first responders off of the roads. If it is unsafe for you, it is unsafe for them. Once this happens, our 911 center will begin making a list of calls, but will not be dispatching response until after the storm’s impact and once the roadways have a safe pathway. THIS COULD TAKE DAYS. Leave early and wait for the all clear before returning – for YOUR safety and for the safety of those tasked with keeping us safe.

Things to note about evacuation planning:
• WE RECOMMEND EVACUATING 10s OF MILES OUTSIDE OF THE EXPECTED IMPACT AREA INSTEAD OF HUNDREDS. You don’t have to evacuate to Arkansas to be safe. During Hurricane Irma, it is estimated that 6.8 million Floridians evacuated. It is also estimated that only 3 million Floridians were in the mandatory evacuation zones. Double the evacuees created a nightmare on the roads that will discourage evacuation the next time it is called for.
• DON’T COME BACK UNTIL OFFICIALS SAY IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. Much has to happen before it is declared safe to return to your home. We understand you are anxious to see damage, begin cleaning up and getting back to a new normal. We are too! However, before we can deem the area safe to return, we must remove debris from the roadways, re-establish emergency services, inspect the hospitals before they can reopen, inspect bridges and roadways, do search and rescue, and begin initial damage assessment so we can get needed resources mobilized to our area to respond. Please be patient and wait for clearance to return.

Helpful links:
http://nassaucountyfl.com/90/Emergency-Evacuations
http://nassaucountyfl.com/72/Know-Your-Evacuation-Zone

Once again – we will NOT do a CONTRA-FLOW for evacuations in our area!

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Robert S. Warner, Jr.
Robert S. Warner, Jr. (@guest_55238)
4 years ago

Read up and integrate this in one’s planning, folks. I know, mostly, what to do and when to do it – having done it a couple of times before over the past 20 years, when it was relatively easy. Do you?