A System to Allow Orderly Evacuation of Cities During Airborne Release of Toxic Substances Alexander E. MacDonald NOAA Forecast Systems Lab A presentation to the Urban Meteorology Forum September 22, 2004

Talk Summary 1. Thoughts on Orderly Evacuation of Cities 2. Reverse System Description 4. Actions in Progress

Homeland Security: Everyone gets location specific evacuation instructions.

- Information Flow Intellicast: Brand name of a reverse 911 system developed by Intrado, a company located in Longmont Colorado.

 94% + households have a telephone  The telephone always is “ON”  Uses an existing, reliable network  Typically not affected by power outages or adverse weather  Same as network  Intrado: 99% of US phones located within 30 ft Why Telephone Notification

Intrado Intrado manages the nations 911 database –Over 210 million telephone records including wireline, wireless, unlisted and unpublished numbers Through its database management, call routing and licensing arrangements with all major telephone companies manages 99% of all 911 emergency calls nationwide Identified by the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) as part of the nations critical infrastructure for emergency management and telecommunications

October 29, 2003, 1:30 pm. The Jamestown fire about 1 ½ mile from the Crestview Subdivision (where I live).

October 29, 3 pm. The Jamestown fire, after a run of five miles, enters the Crestview Subdivision, ½ mile from my house.

Specific Area Depiction of Reverse 911 Calls During Jamestown Fire

– Pre-planned Map out flood plains, areas around HazMat sites, chemical/petrol manufacturers, etc. Works with real time Telephone Number extracts within pre-planned areas

City Escape System System Description Airborne Toxic Prediction Subsystem (x,y,t) Advanced City Scale Observing Subsystem Individual Notification System (Reverse 911, others) Evacuation Optimum Routing Subsystem Human Interaction and Control Subsystem Computing and Communications Subsystem

Actions In Progress Several organizations building a system for DC area: Dept of Homeland Security NOAA DHS Program National Weather Service NOAA Forecast Systems Lab NOAA Air Resources Lab Intrado Corporation