PS12-Disaster Response and Recovery
Status
Existing
Description
This service package enhances the ability of the surface transportation system to respond to and recover from disasters. It addresses the most severe incidents that require an extraordinary response from outside the local community. All types of disasters are addressed including natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, winter storms, tsunamis, etc.) and technological and man–made disasters (hazardous materials incidents, nuclear power plant accidents, and national security emergencies such as nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons attacks).
The service package supports coordination of emergency response plans, including general plans developed before a disaster as well as specific tactical plans with short time horizon that are developed as part of a disaster response. The service package provides enhanced access to the scene for response personnel and resources, provides better information about the transportation system in the vicinity of the disaster, and maintains situation awareness regarding the disaster itself. In addition, this service package tracks and coordinates the transportation resources – the transportation professionals, equipment, and materials – that constitute a portion of the disaster response.
The service package identifies the key points of integration between transportation systems and the public safety, emergency management, public health, and other allied organizations that form the overall disaster response. In this service package, the Emergency Management Center represents the federal, regional, state, and local Emergency Operations Centers and the Incident Commands that are established to respond to the disaster. The interface between the Emergency Management Center and the other centers provides situation awareness and resource coordination among transportation and other allied response agencies. In its role, traffic management implements special traffic control strategies and detours and restrictions to effectively manage traffic in and around the disaster. Maintenance and construction provides damage assessment of road network facilities and manages service restoration. Transit management provides a similar assessment of status for transit facilities and modifies transit operations to meet the special demands of the disaster. As immediate public safety concerns are addressed and disaster response transitions into recovery, this service package supports transition back to normal transportation system operation, recovering resources, managing on–going transportation facility repair, supporting data collection and revised plan coordination, and other recovery activities.
This service package builds on the basic traffic incident response service that is provided by TM08, the Traffic Incident Management service package. This service package addresses the additional complexities and coordination requirements that are associated with the most severe incidents that warrant an extraordinary response from outside the local jurisdictions and require special measures such as the activation of one or more emergency operations centers. Many users of ARC–IT will want to consider both TM08 and this service package since every region is concerned with both day–to–day management of traffic–related incidents and occasional management of disasters that require extraordinary response.
Disaster Response and Recovery is also supported by PS14, the "Disaster Traveler Information" service package that keeps the public informed during a disaster response. See that service package for more information.