The evacuation order covers several counties and a quarter of Florida's total population. It is reported that traffic jams have turned some interstate highways into parking lots, and many areas are also suffering from gasoline shortages. Hotels in nearby states are full, and hundreds of temporary shelters are being built for those who have nowhere to go in the storm.
But how can you evacuate so many people safely?
Facts have proved that the key lies in a lot of preparation and planning, Susan Carter said, and Kurt, director of the Institute of Danger and Vulnerability at the University of South Carolina, told Life Science:
"This is a well-thought-out systematic process. Plan to get people out of danger, and then plan to get people back home. There is a lot of scientific evidence behind this. " This is not just a willful thing.
Related:
Photo of Hurricane irma: Image of a Monster Storm Where will Hurricane irma land on the Florida Peninsula? Hurricane Irma: Everything you need to know about this monster storm, whether it is evacuated or not, is not always clear at a glance, as Hurricane Harvey revealed a few weeks ago. However, cities like Miami and some counties in Florida have been considering and planning major hurricanes for some time, Carter said.
The key for people to leave the hurricane safely is to calculate how long it takes for people to leave an area according to the local road network, which is the so-called clearing time; Accurately calculate which areas are at risk; And the arrival of tropical strong winds, or those winds that are greater than 39 miles per hour (63 kilometers per hour). Hurricane Irma is a huge category 4 hurricane, and tropical storm winds extend from its center 185 miles (295 kilometers), which means that people need more preparation time to evacuate safely. [Observation: A sad flight to irma captured by a time-lapse video]
Chet said: "You don't want cars to drive in this wind, and of course you don't want cars to cross the bridge from barrier island to the mainland in this wind."
Carter said that using the dangerous data of traffic model, population data and flood/storm surge data, emergency planners may calculate that, for example, it takes 24 hours to evacuate Florida, and tropical strong winds may arrive 36 hours before the hurricane, which means that evacuation needs to start 60 hours before the peak risk of storm surge. In this example, this may mean reducing the storm surge warning time according to the preparation time provided by the National Hurricane Center (usually 48 hours for hurricane observation or warning) before the hurricane warning or storm surge warning is officially issued.
Reducing chaos may also involve early action by local organizations. Areas that may be affected may be monitored or warned much earlier than the official National Hurricane Center. Antonio Nani, a structural engineer at the University of Miami, told Field Science before:
In order to alleviate the traffic jam, emergency planners set up evacuation routes and regional maps for each organization, so many organizations, such as universities, closed ahead of schedule a few days ago, which means that many people have time to leave an area and a city in Florida, based on detailed research, from vacant houses to flood risks, to demography of vulnerable people, to land use. Florida Department of Transportation also has a hotline that callers can use to determine the best way out in the area. (The telephone number is (850) 414100 or (toll-free) (866)374-FDOT(3368)). FL5 1 1 also has information about evacuation routes. Governor Rick Scott has also set up a separate hotline to help people who are deadlocked get rid of the hurricane in time.
Florida's natural gas shortage is another problem, but in this case, Florida has begun to enter a state of emergency, which helps to prevent price fraud that may lead to natural gas shortage, * * * news reports,
Although the scope of punishment wind in Irma may be large, the actual area that must be evacuated is much smaller. Generally speaking, most people will leave the inland coast and then leave from the inland areas of northern Florida. Carter said there was no need for hurricanes to move to Virginia or New Jersey and block interstate highways.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-NASA satellite GOES- 16 captured the geographic color image of Hurricane Irma passing through the eastern tip of Cuba at around 8 am on September 8, 20 17. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/CIRA) "KDSP" is in southern Florida. According to the planning map of Florida, the evacuation area on the storm surge planning map is divided into concentric rings from A to E, and the area within the evacuation area A is the area along the coast that is most likely to be flooded. Not all areas need evacuation. These areas are usually not evacuated because of strong winds (basically all parts of Florida will be affected by strong winds). Building codes are considered to reduce wind disasters. Therefore, only those people who are in fragile structures and are moving to stronger structures should be evacuated due to the wind. Cooter said that as long as someone has a safe place to travel, they can resist the hurricane. Nani said that many people living in evacuation zone A may not have to go to other cities or states to ensure their safety. He plans to spend the storm in his home on Wednesday, which is the most dangerous evacuation area A, but if the weather forecast, he plans to move a few miles away. Instead, they can go somewhere in the same city or general area.
Most people either live with family and friends or flock to local hotels.
Carter said: "They just feel more comfortable in hotels, motels or with family and friends." .
However, the most vulnerable people-those without a strong social network and many economic means-will need shelter. Carter said that these locations (usually schools) are pre-determined by the Red Cross according to the threat of floods, the wind resistance of buildings, the availability of sanitary facilities such as toilets and showers, and the space of food preparation facilities or food preparation tents. In addition, population modeling needs to predict the number of asylum seekers, which is partly based on past data and partly based on local population. Aviation medical evacuation squadron 156
Members of the North Carolina Air National Guard key west Xia Ji Medical Center provide safety for patients. C- 130 was evacuated before the arrival of Hurricane Emma on September 6th. (Senior pilot Sonia Clark/Air National Guard) So far, hundreds of shelters have been established; People who have nowhere to go can use these shelters and should go to the nearest shelter. According to state and local officials, they are likely to be full soon. (The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a list of shelters for people under evacuation orders. )
Shadow Evacuation and Vulnerable People "KDSP" In any evacuation, about 10% to 20% of the evacuees choose to evacuate voluntarily, but they are not in the evacuation area. They may not directly harm life and limbs, but they may simply conclude that it is too difficult to stay on animals.