ITS National Associations Working Group
FHWA/AASHTO Workshops: Transportation's Role During and After
Disasters
Effective operation of the transportation system during and
following an emergency event is critical for emergency personnel and for the
traveling public. As the nation becomes better prepared to
handle disasters, it is important that transportation issues are addressed and
plans are established that ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and
goods during and following the emergency. To this end, and in
coordination with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO), in 2002 the Federal Highway Administration sponsored a
series of ten workshops around the nation. The focus of each
workshop was to enable better coordinated, better prepared responses for
transportation during and after an event. The workshops were
interactive and focused primarily on learning from areas that have experienced
disasters, and on working through a tabletop exercise. The
objectives of the workshops were to:
-
Increase awareness of the responsible agencies of the
critical processes, issues, and activities that arise during and following an
emergency, and of possible approaches to addressing these.
-
Foster and support institutional relationships among
transportation managers, emergency managers, enforcement agencies, emergency
responders, medical professionals, media and security personnel.
-
Build upon a checklist and guidance documents for
coordination of transportation operations during and after an emergency in a
format that can easily be used by all
communities.
-
Develop a set of next steps to improve transportation
operations during and after an emergency event.
-
Encourage an environment supporting sustained information
sharing and routine interaction between the agencies involved in managing
transportation during emergencies.
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