Report finds areas of improvment for state and local evacuation planning | 12.28.2006 | 09:14:10 | Views: 5151 | ID: December 28: A report released by the Government Accountability Office in December found that state and local government emergency evacuation plans were insufficient in taking into consideration evacuations for populations without readily-available transportation. To download the report click here: GAO Report To date, only about 10 percent of state plans and 12 percent of national urban area planning take "adequately addressed evacuating these populations." Department of Homeland Security officials studying state, local and urban evacuation plans "found that most states and urban areas significantly underestimated the advance planning and coordination required to effectively address the needs of persons with disabilities," the report found. However, there were efforts to address the gap including state and local governments working with "social service and transportation providers and transportation planning organizations ... to determine transportation needs and develop agreements for emergency use of drivers and vehicles." The report recommended that DHS "should encourage its grant recipients to share information to assist in evacuation preparedness for" communities and families with limited transportation abilities.
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