Good afternoon, welcome. Now I will turn the meeting over to Ms. Bauer. Good day and welcome to the talking operations on westbound conference on emergency transportation. I will be giving an brief introduction to the web conference, environment before turning the session over to well. Ari and Kimberly. Be advised that today's seminar is being recorded T will last approximately one hour 45 minutes. During the presentation, if you think of a question, you can type it into the smaller text book under the chat area on the lower left ide of the screen to indicate to your question is directed toward unless it is intended for all presenters. presenters. Make sure you send your question to everyone rather than just the presenters. They will be unable to answer your questions during the presentations, but will use S questions typed into the chat box for the Q and A session. Again, I would like to remind you that this session is being reproduced. recorded. A file containing audio and visual portion of this seminar will be posted to NTAC into the website within the next week. The PowerPoint presentation will also be available during the next week on this site. They will be notified of the available of the (indiscernible) and at it time, I would like to introduce Ms. Radow and Kimberly Casson. Laurel J Radow joined the federal highway administration in 1996. She manages both the agencies planned special events and evac using program. She participates in all the team's components of the team's responsibilities. Prior to assuming the plan's special events responsibility, she served as the Federal Highway emergency coordinator and was responsible for working with the Federal highway emergency coordinators in each of the stateless to ensure the emergency transportation plans that are developed are all hazard and include response recovery, alternative routes. Home land security, public transportation and (indiscernible). Kimberly C Vasconez has been in her position since February of 2006. Her responsibleness have included evacuation, movement coordination. She has 19 years of experience as an emergency manager. She transferred to Federal highway from the department of home land security's Federal emergency agency or FEMA where she served for 15 years. Prior to this, she worked for you U.S. AID office for foreign disaster for four years. Now, they'll give us the first presentation of the seminar. Good, we're meaning to be here today to discuss the continuum that our emergency transportation operation's team managers the role of the various programs within the program played to enhance emergency transportation operation and the role that ITS plays in addresses (indiscernible) by those working on emergency transportation issues. The emergency transportation operation program includes a variety of activity that improve transportation network efficiency and public responder safety with a nonrecurring event either interrupts, such as traffic incident or overwhelms such as planned special events or evacuation. Tell connect manslaughter the transportation public safety, including fire, rescue, EMS and police and emergency response and communities [Speaker/Audio unclear] Partnerships, economies and experiences accrued by local, state and federal staff who address transportation centers, such as fender benders for where transportation is a critical response component such as evacuations. (indiscernible) continuum of transportation center issues such as (indiscernible) to those with traffic transportation is a critical response, such as flood, or no storms. We view the emergency transportation as I (indiscernible) and complexity of the response. If federal highway, we are addressing three primary emergency transportation operation activities. The highway probably, low severity traffic incident through our TIM program plan special event which is is the platform for unit preparedness for response readiness. To event that might act track (indiscernible) example, the Super bowl, ending at the low probably but high impact of the cat trophic event that's located that's covered through our evacuation program planning program. Here, we are working with local, state and federal officials to address officials to address movement operations in the area of evacuations. During these events, the Federal Government plays greater role if providing support to state and local governments. Outside of those prescribed by the national incident management system. Use of ITS products differs in degree of amount of reliance in the system as we move from traffic into management through planned special ark vents and mass evacuations. The curb state for (indiscernible) is founded upon a bed rock of regional state Constitutional coordination institutional coordination, 247 on scene (indiscernible) including full service patrol and integrated communication technologies. However, at the current state, (indiscernible) varying levels of development usually because resource limitations prohibit the establishment of 24 hour seven response capable including (indiscernible) and even more specifically that many programs operate during partial days, (indiscernible) workday and weekday. The number and mission of the institutions involve in the (indiscernible) often differences in admission or organizational interest or resources (indiscernible) obtainment of the optimum traffic management program for the jurisdiction. There are jurisdictions. There are many different organizations in the state and local police organizations that are responsible for the parts of the tracking management program. Also, communication (indiscernible) there has been much press about the lack of communication (indiscernible) since the 9/11 response and much more recent events such as the snow storm in Pennsylvania this past February 14th. Rather than spent much pore time to traffic management, please mark your calendars to attend the web cast in June and October with both sessions will provide (indiscernible) traffic incident management. The definition as as listed here has been abbreviated due to space constrained. The full definition is federal highway use is that planned special event is a (indiscernible) normal operation of the surface transportation system due to increased travel demand and increased capacity of the ECL event, staging N contrast, you know planned special ark vent is an unexpected disruption to the normal operation of the surface transportation system. Planned speck vendor caution programs cover more activities and stake holders than just traffic incident management. Federal highway administration works to provide guidance for transportation planners and responders and how to plan for special events and prepare to respond to major or cat trophic disasters that (indiscernible) jurisdictions and states. These events usually involve state (indiscernible) as noted in this continuum, we try to address those areas that make the most difference immediately prior to or after an event, except for planning for the particular and Republican conventions, post 9/11 work on transportation and non(indiscernible) environment and post Katrina work in evacuations. We have (indiscernible) such as the knowledge that we have such as build knowledge and technology transportation through the first responders event planning and emergency management communities. In addition, we will continue to support research and development to help us improve guidance on planning for a special event or building response operations following a major disaster. Some of this research is in the ITS area and had had (indiscernible) to apply current technologies to the special need says. Others is how to take the incident command system and NIMS and make that understandable for the transportation community. Where we are now with planned special e vents? These programs cover more (indiscernible). Noble and reliable. These challenges include, manage and attend travel demand, mitigating potential paste (indiscernible) various with with various travel courses (indiscernible) pedestrian flow and transit vehicles, coordinating travel management activities with event operator and overall planning team and available staff resources, support surfaces and financial capabilities. What federal highway is doing now (indiscernible) those plans to respond to major or catastrophic disasters that transcend jurisdictional and states and draw national attention. Federal highway is building partnerships with the transportation and emergency manage XM first responder communes and as personally with those venue sags with associations with planned special events. We are currently producing documentation that will help (indiscernible) first responder event plan coming emergency management community to address dispatchers, for example the simplified guide to incident command and several rein documentation documents in the planned special event, including the handbook, executive summary for the hand back and ranty (indiscernible) checklist recently (indiscernible) checklist. We will continue to support research and development for these planned special events. (indiscernible) far beyond implementation of well designs transportation for the main event. For for the past 24th of July, the Washington department of transportation has used that earthquake vent, to stage it's downtown emergency evacuation plan. For me, this is a very good example of any we (indiscernible) established in establishing a team that reps (indiscernible) let me now turn over the rest of the presentation to Kim Cannons. Good afternoon or morning or whatever time it is for you all. My name suspect Kimberly Cannons and I'm the emergency transportation team leader here at Federal highway and I want to spend the rest of the briefing talking age about the evacuation operation and opening it up for guest speak torse add to some of the information that lorry and I are providing now. We want to begin fortunately this country has not to had to voted large populations as it did during hurricane Katrina very frequently. As a result, there's very few experts to handle this scale of massive evacuation. However, the expertise exists out there. According to a rein study by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that was conducted over 10 plus year span, an evacuation was a thousand or more people occurs once ever two to three weeks in this country. Evacuations of 2000 or more constitute about 57 percent of all evacuation unless this country. So it considers frequently and occurs all over the country for a variety of reasons. So the expertise is out there and it is in the state and local hands. What we're trying to did is try to capitalize on that expertise and learn from those folk thats have gone through the experiences and use it and find some commonalities that may be able to use by everybody. Most of these evacuations that I referred to under this study are result of wildfires, that being the No. 1 cause of evacuations. They usually threaten communities and a lot of times you hear it during wildfire peek wildfire season but occur all year around. Flooding is second most frequent. Other tropical Tom and hurricane storm and hurricanes usual leal own ark count for about 14 percent of evacuation. Some experience in evacuation operation does exist but it is mostly held in the lands of hands local and state officials. This year it has already shown that the disaster efforts happen anytime and any where. Both the and intra both the no storms and floods illustrate why local and state officials need to have best example and best practices of how to evacuate the population because a lot of time they happen when little or no warning. Following Katrina's massive operation, we looked hard at the evacuation planning. Federal highway was involved if a national assessment of readiness with department of Home land security. We were also engage indeed doing a study of its own for Congress that involve (indiscernible) evacuation plan of gulf state areas. We found that evacuation visit a variety of elements. No. 1, transportation officials and emergency management from first responders Cadillac rated and coordinate thyself these plans. There's one point that we want to make through this briefing and she has already alluded to it and you're going toll hear it from other briefers, getting transportation to the table with the people who put the plans together it ising essential. I'm diverse knowledge bit here. As emergency manager, I was on the other side of table and I had no idea the type or capableness or extend that transportation had to present. So getting the right transportation person at the planning table is also as important as having somebody there. So getting out and meeting, participating in exercises it's critical for the entire unit to have it effective evacuation planning process. No. 2, plans for checking real time collecting real time photographic data, which is important during evacuations. We need one of major theme thats came out of both the national plan review and the gulf state studies last year was that there is a demand, a huge demand for real time traffic information and the toolless that you use on a day to day basis are the same tool says your going to be relying on during disaster efforts. Therefore, we need to find ways to be able to harden those capabilities, however that daut is is being collected and reinforcing those line was communication in an and improving on them by extending them to the emergency management community or whom ever is running the emergency operation violence at the time of the disaster. Plans are communicating with the public about the evacuation order and available are food, gas shelter along the evacuation route. Good plans have account used all of these. What we've found also is that transportation plans are you cannot develop a transportation plan or transportation cannot act alone. It has to act in conjunction with people who are providing human services, who are doing sheltering, et cetera. And both of those reports are are referenced are chalked full of examples of what works and lesson that we learned from lessons that we learned from them not working. Another element of good plan is collaborative relations with shelter operations. These are (indiscernible). (indiscernible). They may be desirable, but they're just one problem and option and in some cases they may not be the best option for your community. But consideration (indiscernible) flow is essentially good practice for any evacuation plan. (indiscernible)? Transportation improvements we found should be in the area of producing real time information I'm sorry,. Yeah, basically where we are right now is finding citizens are struggling with a lack of experience, their able to collect real time dated ark traffic data and relationships with emergency manage XM first responding and neighboring counties are just not there. ITS provides reliable and usefulness in disaster disaster operations hasn't been explored to the (indiscernible) really needs to be addressed and occurred because (indiscernible) in terms of communicating with the public during an evacuation. We also need to communities are still struggle category coordinating with shelter and group and (indiscernible) with special mobile (indiscernible). At the Federal Highway Administration, we are working closely on the last issue with other partners so that we're trying to get some guidance to state and local and what to consider in terms of dealing with special mobile needs. It was a huge topic after Katrina, the offices of general ark co-signing office was taking a lock at that issue and shelve two separate reports on it and I think as a nation, we could have done better and we at Federal highway and Federal transit are trying to work together so we can offer some suggestions how to improve in those areas. What can we do? We can also we're trying to ingratiate (indiscernible) regional and catastrophic plans and guidance on massive evacuations. One of things I do want want to jump off on is a lot of activity that can improve evacuations is regional. And anytime you lose mass in front of evacuation, your implying that a jurisdiction is overwhelmed at at the point that need they need help. And that help suspect best accomplished or best drawn upon in plan indeed advance by mutual aid agreement says or through the if EMA assistance compact or whatever. Talk with our neighbors. When you add mass in front of evacuation, the same people that you're expecting to perform duties that perform them on a day to day basis, will likely not be there because they will be victims themselves or engaged or having to evacuate also. That's another reason why these agreements, the regional cooperation is so critical. So as we're taking as you're taking a look at evacuation planning, consider bring figure your local jurisdictions. Use that as an exercise to try and bring in people that would be engaged for larger disaster. All of on a day to day planning every, to a larger degree later on and I'll talking more about the intelligent transportation system and their experience during capacities, not just day to day. But we need to take to a lack at how we can integrate ITS better but one of projects we're going to be looking at over the next year is really ingraining the traffic management centerless with the emergency operations centers and the entire infrastructure there in, the folks that are managing disasters have access to real time traffic information that have access to technical expertise who can interpret what they're seeing on the TV screens, et cetera. Consideration the needs of populationless with special mobile needs in coordinating with recipient shelters that was a taking individuals (indiscernible) only to find out that they didn't have the capable to support the type of needs that of an individual coming into that financial or that that the arrival of a especially in public transportation where they're bring nothing large groups of people, the AMTRAK incident that's referenced a couple of time unless the Gulf State study where they stopped at the stop and the injuries and shelters were not prepared to accept them so they had to keep traveling until they found an area where they could off load individual (indiscernible). So the shelter connection is really critical. (audio cut nothing and out). Evacuation what are we doing about this right now? One of things we're trying to do is develop some coordination linkings between stake holders. It's one of our themeless here that we need to get the right people talking to the right people and make sure that the transportation is represented in all of the planning exercises and various efforts. We're producing document and trying to transfer teg nog. We at national level are trying to serve as the knowledge management location where we're going to find best practices, good practices, finding (indiscernible) that others can benefit from and what we're trying to do is establish that and share that with others. Including evacuation plan evaluation criteria that was used. We're establishing (indiscernible) series, regional seminars. We just ree real estate probably about five, six or seven documents over the last two humongous evacuation planning and you can find them on our website at www.w.FHWA. oh, I'm sorry. Okay we will share that through the chat. Through the chat. Okay. And there is a series of documents. We also alert you to we have the publication that's coming up. We have some really interesting things that should be very useful we feel are putting on some regional seminars and the first one is going to be in Florida on evacuation planning on May 30 right front vert and it's going to be the Gulf states will be invited to participate in that first seminar. We're also talking take a look at research and development. One particular area is in the modeling area. The different type of modeling tools that are available and what are the benefits and drawbacks of using this modeling tools. We're also taking a look at using ITS solutions and trying to find day to day or some you took me solutions using ITS for disaster environment and particularly in supporting evacuation operation. Comments read? What did we find through the variety comments read? (indiscernible) we found that decision making planning issues were pretty common throughout. The information data collection and coordination was another theme that we found where we need to do better in those areas. Communication, both among responders and with the public needs to be enhanced and traffic control is a major problem in terms of executing evacuation. Integration some of the challenge thats we've got integration of transportation operation into emergency management operations. Again, common theme, we have to get our transporters and our emergency manager and first responders working together. One of the exampleless at Federal Highway where we've done just that and to show our e-mails if that area is to show they've hired people from this team. I have an emergency management background. Another one is a 25 year veteran of the Massachusetts State Police. We have Laur i.e. who has been working in a variety of areas here in transportation and then we have (indiscernible). That just shows the recognition and federal highway of the inner relationship and need for all of us to share our knowledge to overcome some of the kegs and evacuating population. Compatible, scale ability and partnerships are also problem thats we have to face in a (indiscernible). One of the things we showed you about the continuum is one of pint point it's one of the points I want make about the continuum is the more complex the event, the more players we have to coordinate with and where you have a very limited (indiscernible) for a testimony grows up (indiscernible) by the time you have taken up (indiscernible) there are a number of challenges for all of us we call these on the right hand side side, many of them nontraditional partners for transportation. New areas, people, new ways talking and that's one of reasons why we're trying to standardized and talk the same talk as most of these folks are using this system as their baseline for their organization struck and you are their terminology. Tell also explain yes we're working with other serves e so we can get best guidance to the states and locals as possible. Last slide really talk balance IT working applications for ETO and I won't get into this. We'll just skip over this in the interest of time. But just upon to talk about a couple of the ITS capable that we're looking for capabilities that we're capables that we're looking at for more enhanced applications for emergency enhanced evacuation operations. This slide gives you the information on the key players here at headquarters. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us, her information is here. You can feel free to contact me anytime also. I'm as a team leader and then we have the website that I was stumbling through a minute ago or it's provided right here. At these websites, you'll be able to find all the documents that we have and in the next briefing, we're going to talk a little bit about Department of Home land security lessons learned system and some of the opportunities and the new enhancements there. That slide is going to supplement the Federal Highway Site. So at this point, is there anything? At this point, we're going to move on to the next presentation and I am very pleased to meet or to Bruce to introduce, Nancy Houston who has been long working with me on a variety of topics and she's going to talk about continue talking about some publications in the evacuation area and Nancy is a senior associate in booze Allen Hamilton'sor llano's office. She has Orlando's office. Focusing on policy and technical issues and plan coming transportation. She served for (indiscernible) in district five as a (ing manager. District director for (indiscernible) and district secretary she feel also served as the assistant second for district operations overall eight flue Florida DOT districts.