A double whammy of natural disasters this month got all of Washington, D.C. thinking about evacuation plans for the nation’s capital city. Turns out they had a lot of time to think about it, while they were sitting in their cars for five hours in the aftermath of the quake. A January snowstorm put commuters in gridlock for 12 hours, in some spots, spurring questions about whether the city would be able to evacuate in a terrorist attack scenario, for instance.
We decided to research the city’s largely hapless attempts to create a unified evacuation plan since 2001. Prepare to be impressed by the 10-year efforts of the nation’s capital, at the cost of several million dollars, to come up with an evacuation plan. All of the headlines in this video are from The Washington Post. Thanks to Sean Malone for producing this video, as usual!
The full list of the Washington Post‘s assessments of D.C.’s evacuation attempts and examinations. I used headlines from only the Post a) because it’s a local paper and b) so no one thought I was cherry-picking for ineptitude:
Sept. 18, 2001
D.C. Developing New Emergency Plans In Response to Last Week’s Breakdown
Sept. 18, 2001 (Editorial)
Not Ready
Dec. 9, 2001
District, Other Cities Preparing Crisis Evacuation Plans
March 19, 2002
Subtle Signs Will Show the Way;
District Prepares Evacuation Plan
May 7, 2002
Ridge Looks to Coordinate D.C. Area Disaster Plans;
Summit Would Involve Md., Va., City, U.S. Officials
May 30, 2002
After 9/11, Region Together Tackles A Crisis Response
May 30, 2002
Emergency Transportation Deal Reached;
Local, Federal Agencies Agree To Coordinate Plans, Response
Sept. 12, 2002
Emergency Plan for Region Unveiled;
COG Proposal Includes D.C. Evacuation System
March 14, 2003
Mass Area Evacuation Viewed as Impractical
Feb. 27, 2003
City Renews Focus On Crisis Response
March 16, 2003
Head for the Hills? It Won’t Be Easy
May 15, 2005
Safety Of Capital Evacuation Reviewed;
Experts Say Plan Sacrifices Shelter
July 3, 2005
D.C. Ready To Assess Evacuation Strategy;
Expert Applauds Test After July 4 Fireworks
July 9, 2005 (Editorial)
A Useful Test
Sept. 11, 2005
Terrorism Could Hurl D.C. Area Into Turmoil;
Despite Efforts Since 9/11, Response Plans Incomplete
Sept. 29, 2005 (Editorial)
Evacuate More Smoothly or stay put: Washington should not wait for an
emergency to occur before coming to grips with its evacuation
problems.
June 29, 2006 (Editorial)
Forecast: Gridlock;
If rain can paralyze movement in downtown Washington, are we ready for
a terrorist attack?
Sept. 7, 2006
In Pursuit of Emergency Preparedness;
Strides Are Made In Readiness Effort, But Some Pieces Remain Unfinished
Sept. 7, 2007
Area Disaster Planning Gets More Muscle;
Officials Respond to Criticism of Evacuation Preparedness
Feb. 4, 2008
Guide to Evacuate Region Reveals Limitations
Aug. 24, 2011
Earthquake illustrates colossal challenge of evacuating Washington, D.C.