Once a decision is made to evacuate, individuals still need to be able to accomplish the evacuation in a safe and efficient manner. This includes identifying necessary supplies to take with them, knowing which routes are most appropriate under the circumstances, and having a final destination identified.
This activity is designed to provide participants with the skills necessary to develop a plan for evacuating in advance of a disaster, including identifying their own personal evacuation routes as well as evacuation destinations. The title “Planning an Evacuation - Map it Out” refers to the part of the activity that involves using a map to identify evacuation routes. Other parts of the activity address issues such as supplies, identifying destinations, and including evacuation planning as part of the “make a plan” process that families, households and individuals are encouraged to go through.
This activity is appropriate for communities that are vulnerable to any disaster that provides enough warning for residents to evacuate ahead of time. These disasters include hurricanes, certain floods, wild fires, and specific Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Terrorism (WMD/T) incidents. Leaders are encouraged to reference those emergencies that are most likely to impact the participants as a way of increasing their perception of personal risk. When people are able to see that they are personally at risk of being affected by an emergency, they are more likely to consider taking action to change their behavior in ways that reduce their risk. However, they must also feel reassured that they can do something to reduce the risk, otherwise they will ignore any recommendations.
This activity may be offered as either a stand-alone Preparedness Education session, which was previously called Community Disaster Education, or as part of a longer Preparedness Education session that covers other topics
This session has been designed to provide maximum flexibility for leaders to make modifications in order to ensure the needs and concerns of the audience are adequately addressed. The group size and time frame are recommendations only, and may be modified as needed.