Effective communication of transportation-related information to vulnerable populations is a critical need during emergencies. Despite its importance, a variety of factors still hinder the development of comprehensive andeffective plans for communicating emergency information to mobility-limited individuals during evacuations and other major emergencies. Such limiting factors include the wide diversity of vulnerable populations, their special needs, existing contact and communication barriers, and lack of resources and mechanisms to locate those populations and assist them during emergencies. This paper illustrates the complexity associated with communication with vulnerable populations in emergency evacuations through a critical review of existing literature and state-of-the-practice information gathered recently from transportation and emergency management agency personnel. First, the paper reviews definitions, characteristics and size of vulnerable population. Next, principles of effective communication and the special provisions for communicating with vulnerable populations are presented, along with examples of effective communications and communications barriers. Finally, the paper identifies numerous important emergency evacuation communications topics that were not discussed in the literature, and offers recommendations for bridging those gaps. Examples include the limited involvement of experts in emergency evacuation communication, the lack of information about the financial aspects and cost effectiveness of such communications, the need to establish an information clearing house to assistin future evacuations, and the lack of standardization and cataloging of appropriate evacuation messages.
Abstract