Guide to Evacuate Region Reveals Limitations

Officials acknowledge that it is unlikely they'll ever need to empty the entire D.C. area. In many emergencies, such as a release of hazardous chemicals, it is considered safer for people to stay indoors. But Homeland Security has urged the Washington area to improve its disaster planning, judging it "not sufficient" in a survey after Hurricane Katrina.

The new guide bluntly outlines the difficulties of a big evacuation. Most people in the area are expected to flee in their cars. But even in a typical evening rush period, a majority of the designated evacuation routes operate at 120 percent of capacity or more, the guide says.

Some designated passages out of the District are not considered evacuation routes by neighboring jurisdictions. For example, MacArthur Boulevard tapers from six lanes to two in Maryland, where it is not considered an evacuation corridor, the guide notes.

Andrew Lauland, Maryland's homeland security director, said that reflects differing philosophies of the city and its neighbor.

"If you're evacuating a city, you get [residents] out as quickly as possible," using all the main roads in a relatively small area, he said. But a state such as Maryland wants evacuees to use its highway system and will direct them to different routes depending on the location and nature of the disaster, Lauland said.

In the case of MacArthur Boulevard, transportation officials would probably redirect District vehicles onto several smaller roads to reach Maryland's highways, officials said.

For those without cars, evacuating could be chaotic.

Although Metro trains could whisk people out of the District, the system might be shut down in a disaster. The guide identifies 105 pickup points in the region, such as the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Metro stations, where those on foot could board special buses to leave town.

But, the guide notes, many jurisdictions have yet to arrange for such provisions as bottled water or portable restrooms at their pickup points.

And although the guide provides a database of more than 6,600 vehicles maintained by 27 transit agencies, it "does not make the assumption that a sufficient amount of trained, licensed drivers will be available." Part-time or off-duty bus drivers might be especially difficult to locate, the report points out. It expresses particular concern about transportation for the disabled, sick and elderly.

"The availability of ambulances and other emergency medical transportation resources may be quickly overwhelmed, particularly if there is a need to evacuate medical facilities," it says.

Darrell L. Darnell, director of the D.C. homeland security office, which coordinated work on the guide, acknowledged that it doesn't solve many potential problems.