The question is whether resources would be better spent on getting people out of smaller areas as opposed to a mass evacuation.
Dave Forster, The Virginian-Pilot | July 18, 2014
(MCT) — When a major hurricane heads toward Hampton Roads, state officials consider whether to reverse the eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 to evacuate the region.
Those same officials are now asking whether the maneuver, which cost millions to develop and has yet to be used before a storm, is worth keeping in their hurricane response plan.
Curtis Brown, chief deputy state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said Thursday that other states, such as North Carolina and Florida, are focusing more on targeted evacuations and shelters.
Virginia spent $5.8 million in state and federal money in 2007 to add nearly 300 gates and make other improvements along I-64 and I-664 for its reversible interstate plan, according to a Department of Transportation release from that year. The release also says $2.9 million was spent in 2006 to install 128 gates in the corridor.
Reversing lanes requires the deployment of the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the National Guard, Brown said. The question is whether that's the best use of those resources, or whether they would be better spent on getting people out of smaller areas as opposed to a mass evacuation, he said.
A review of the state's hurricane response plan is under way. A report is due Aug. 15 to Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
©2014 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.). Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Those same officials are now asking whether the maneuver, which cost millions to develop and has yet to be used before a storm, is worth keeping in their hurricane response plan.
Curtis Brown, chief deputy state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said Thursday that other states, such as North Carolina and Florida, are focusing more on targeted evacuations and shelters.
Virginia spent $5.8 million in state and federal money in 2007 to add nearly 300 gates and make other improvements along I-64 and I-664 for its reversible interstate plan, according to a Department of Transportation release from that year. The release also says $2.9 million was spent in 2006 to install 128 gates in the corridor.
Reversing lanes requires the deployment of the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the National Guard, Brown said. The question is whether that's the best use of those resources, or whether they would be better spent on getting people out of smaller areas as opposed to a mass evacuation, he said.
A review of the state's hurricane response plan is under way. A report is due Aug. 15 to Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
©2014 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.). Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/
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