Needs Assessment for Multi-Modal Emergency Transportation Operations with a Focus on an Aging Population

In the aftermath of disasters, evacuating aging victims and maintaining an optimal transportation of critical resources in order to serve their needs becomes problematic, especially for Gulf Coast states in the USA such as Florida, where more than 6.9 million (36.9%) of the overall population are over age 50. Recent experience with Hurricane Katrina showed that fatalities are disproportionately aging people who live independently and who are not willing or able to evacuate. From a transportation perspective, this problem becomes even more challenging when we consider roadway disruptions that can drastically affect the emergency transportation operations. Scanning the literature, there is no substantial prior work that has synthesized the requirements for a detailed multi-modal operational emergency needs assessment that could facilitate safe and accessible evacuation of aging people, and optimize the transportation of critical resources into the affected disaster region to satisfy the needs of those who remain. This project describes the conceptual foundation and components necessary to create such a knowledge base with importance given to both ensuring the resiliency of the transportation infrastructure and meeting the needs of aging population. Evaluating this comprehensive knowledge base, operational emergency transportation needs in order to serve the aging populations are also identified. To help address these needs, geographic information system (GIS)-based tools can assist agencies with optimal and efficient solutions/strategies to transport aging victims, optimize shelter locations, and provide vital commodities in the aftermath of disasters. Therefore, following a thorough analysis of the knowledge base, this project focuses on the development of more efficient emergency management methodologies with a focus on aging populations. These methodologies are also supported by an aging victim-focused and GIS-based case study application set in the District 3 region as identified by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $125400.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DTRT13-G-UTC42

  03317-34609

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  University Transportation Centers Program
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Tucker-Thomas, Dawn

• Performing Organizations:

  Center for Accessibility and Safety for an Aging Population

  Florida State University
  Tallahassee, FL  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Ozguven, Eren

• Start Date: 20140109
• Expected Completion Date: 20141223
• Actual Completion Date: 20150228
• Source Data: RiP Project 36865

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged; Decision making; Emergency management; Evacuation; Fatalities; Multimodal transportation; Transportation planning
• Identifier Terms: Hurricane Katrina, 2005
• Geographic Terms: Florida
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01530639
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Accessibility and Safety for an Aging Population
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC42, 03317-34609
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 23 2014 1:01AM