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Urban-to-Rural
Evacuation Planning Toolkit
Public health
emergencies, natural disasters and other emergency scenarios can lead to
spontaneous evacuation of urban residents into surrounding suburban and rural
communities. Without careful planning, such population surges can overwhelm
rural infrastructure, straining fuel, food, lodging and medical resources. This
toolkit, developed by the Western New York
Public Health Alliance (WNYPHA)
The toolkit consists of three parts: the planning tool, the planning guide and additional resources. To aid preparedness planning, the online, map-based Urban to Rural Evacuation Planning Tool provides a model to help estimate the number of evacuees that may arrive in a county following a disaster in a nearby city. The Rural Preparedness Planning Guide supplements this tool by offering recommendations for pre-event, event and post-event planning. Additionally, policy analysis briefs and webcasts provide background information on urban-to-rural evacuation, citing data collected from interviews with experts and a national survey of urban residents to assess evacuation intentions.
Urban to Rural Evacuation Modeling
Tool
The Urban
to Rural Evacuation Modeling Tool is an online, map-based application that
predicts rural and suburban population surge following potential urban
disasters and provides information on county resources important to
preparedness planning. It was developed primarily to estimate the numbers and
travel directions of urban evacuees in order to stimulate effective prepardeness planning. Users can currently choose from
three planning scenarios: dirty bomb, pandemic flu or chemical incident. The
model uses scenario-specific variables to determine how urban residents are
"pushed" into surrounding areas. "Pull" variables are based on the resources,
distances and other aspects of neighboring counties. The result is an
easy-to-use interface allowing users to view the number of evacuees predicted
to arrive within each nearby county or the change in county populations that
would result . The tool also displays the available resources of each county,
such as hotel rooms, campgrounds and hospitals.
***Note: For tracking and evaluation purposes, REGISTRATION
is required to access the Urban to
Rural Evacuation Modeling Tool. All APC products, including the Urban to Rural
Evacuation Tool, are available to health departments in the United States free
of charge. ***
Rural
Preparedness Planning Guide: Planning
for Population Surge Following Urban Disasters
Designed
to complement the Evacuation Planning Tool, the planning guide answers the
question, "so, now what?" by providing tangible, actionable planning
recommendations for rural communities in the areas of pre-event, event and
post-event planning. Each section includes recommendations, checklists and
completion dates for task assignments. Recommendations included in this guide
are based on actual population surge experiences of a panel composed of rural
public health and preparedness officials from across the
Additional Resources
Issue Briefs
With funding from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
(ORHP) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago, a WNYPHA APC
partner, explored the issue of urban-to-rural evacuation through key informant
interviews and a national survey. Briefs
produced by the Walsh Center for Rural
Health Analysis at NORC are provided here as background on the issue of
urban-to-rural evacuation. (The full
project report is also available from the NORC
website.)
Urban-to-Rural Evacuation: Planning for Population Surge.
In order to identify the major
issues surrounding potential evacuations of urban residents into rural
communities and to provide recommendations for how rural planners might prepare
their communities for a population influx, this four-page brief presents the
findings from interviews with national preparedness experts and both urban and
rural local emergency preparedness planners. Experts and planners expressed
concern about the strain that urban evacuees, who are either traveling to or through rural communities, are expected to place on rural
infrastructure. The interviews suggest the need for estimates of the number of
evacuees to facilitate rural preparedness planning. They also encourage coalitions
between urban and rural areas and recommend that rural planners predetermine
sites for receiving and triaging evacuees. To
download a PDF (125K; Requires Adobe Reader)
of the brief, click here.
This brief presents the key
findings from a national survey that assessed the evacuation intentions of
urban citizens following two emergency scenarios: detonation of a radiological
device and an influenza pandemic. The survey found that many urban residents
will evacuate their homes and communities following a disaster or public health
emergency, even against governmental advice. More than half of respondents
indicated that they would be likely to travel to a rural destination. These
findings highlight the possible challenges facing an overwhelmed rural
infrastructure, including strained fuel, food, lodging and medical resources.
Estimates of the numbers, travel directions and characteristics of evacuees are
necessary to allow for effective preparedness planning. To download a PDF (1.2
MB; Requires Adobe
Reader) of the brief, click here.
Webcasts
The Center for Public Health Preparedness in
the
WEBCAST: Mass Evacuation to Rural Communities.
November 9, 2006. The presenters, Brian Gerber, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division
of Public Administration, School of Applied Social Sciences, West Virginia
University and Donald Rowe, Ph.D., Public Health Liaison, School of Public
Health and Health Professions, University of Buffalo, share results of a recent
survey regarding potential behavioral responses of large populations to
disaster events - including terrorist attacks - and discuss key concerns for
rural communities to consider as they plan for mass exodus from urban centers.
They also share efforts underway at that time by the
WEBCAST: Mass Evacuation to Rural Communities II. October
11, 2007. Presenters Michael Meit, M.A., M.P.H., Deputy Director, Walsh Center
for Rural Health Analysis, NORC at the University of Chicago and Paul Kuehnert,
M.S, R.N., Executive Director of the Kane County Health Department share
research results related to mass evacuation to rural areas, practical tips to
deal with mass evacuees, as well as previewing a tool developed by the Western
New York Public Health Alliance Advanced Practice Center to predict community
population surge following potential urban disasters. This presentation was
intended for a national audience of state and local public health professionals
and their partners.
If you encounter
difficulties accessing any of the resources contained in this toolkit, or if
you have questions about the development of the resources or about related
projects, please contact Michael Meit, NORC at the
For more information
about the Western New York Public Health Alliance Advanced Practice Center,
please contact Tracy Fricano Chalmers, Program Manager, at (716) 961-6865 or Tracy.Chalmers@erie.gov.
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